There's something a bit troubling about an ad series which is currently in heavy rotation. The product is an instant blender drink -- the tagline is "Ready. Just in time."
To emphasize how fast they are, the ads show a mother or wife coming to the rescue of a physically or emotionally hurt husband or child. In each case the woman says nothing -- offers no word of comfort, no physical bond -- but instead rushes to the kitchen, opens the freezer and pulls out the product. She deftly chucks it in the blender, whirrs, and presents it to the hurt individual, as the announcer says "Just in time."
What really irks me is how the ads play to the "food equals comfort" cliché.
Unfortunately, this cliché is one of the major psychological hurdles facing those trying to lose weight. Everyone has favourite comfort foods -- usually they have to do with happy memories around a dinner table or similar; they may have been the roast your mother cooked every week or the way your dad made spaghetti on the weekend. In many cases, comfort foods are starchy, fatty or sweet.
This product isn't actually bad for you (most flavours are fat-free and deliver 160 calories for a 400 ml serving size -- the exception is (no surprise here) the pineapple coconut which delivers an extra 30 calories, all from saturated fat) but I object to using a food product as a pacifier.
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2 comments:
I've read all of your posts, and I think you are an exceptional writer. You should be a reporter or something. And a lot of your posts relate to me, example, your lack of motivation. What helps me is looking at magasines, idolising the stick thin barbie dolls. I know your probably thinking, what morsel of self-esteem does this girl have? Im a teen
Hi Natasha, thanks for taking the time to read my posts; I'm glad you can relate.
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