Shrink in the Kitchen

An interesting piece by Stuart Elliot in the NY Times on food advertising.  Mr. Elliot notes that top food brands are selling more of their products, “as Americans spend less and eat at home more.”  Ad budgets for “automobiles, financial services, and luxury goods are slashing ad budgets,” writes Mr. Elliot, while products like Heinz ketchup “(up 967.1 % in the first half of this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence)” (and) Hellman’s mayonnaise (is) “up 165.6 %.”  No wonder: Heinz ketchup and Hellman’s mayonnaise are synonymous with the food they have effectively branded.  As in: “Get me the Heinz” or, “Got Hellman’s?”  It’s not just the psychological familiarity of the products, which advertising reinforces, it’s that they taste better than their national competitors.  Food magazines took too long to go after the advertised brands and the result is they are out of business.