Have you ever heard the phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”? Did you know that it actually came from a marketing campaign and not scientific research? If you didn’t know, you’re certainly not alone. The phrase has become so commonplace that an entire generation of people have grown up with the idea ingrained in them as if it were fact. The power of marketing is why big companies were willing to spend $8 million on a 30-second commercial spot during the Super Bowl this year.
Let’s look at some marketing campaigns that were so successful that they have completely morphed our collective idea of what is factual.
How we start the day
Kellogg’s used the phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” as a marketing slogan in 1917 to encourage people to eat more cereal. Kellogg’s took the marketing campaign further by seeking out and commissioning research that “proved” those claims. This helped entrench the idea as it was backed by experts. Many other companies have used the same phrase to help sell their breakfast products, despite later research showing there are no significant differences between people who eat breakfast and those who skip it.
Other common breakfast items, such as milk and orange juice, became important health staples because of marketing. We all know the famous “Got Milk?” campaigns, but a lot of people are still unaware that dairy milk isn’t actually the best source of calcium and isn’t essential for your health. The dairy industry has even acknowledged that foods such as kale and broccoli have higher rates of calcium than milk, but believes milk is simply more convenient to consume. It’s certainly more convenient for its business model for the public to believe it as well.
As for orange juice, the drink was born out of a need by the California Fruit Growers Exchange to sell an overabundance of oranges they were growing in the early 1900s. Albert Lasker, an advertiser from Chicago, developed the “drink an orange” campaign for the group – as it took more oranges to make a glass of orange juice – alongside manual orange juicers that made it easy for consumers to do at home.
The traditions we hold
In 1940, 10% of soon-to-be brides received a diamond engagement ring as part of a marriage proposal. Today that number is closer to 80%. What changed? In 1947, De Beers launched their “A diamond is forever” campaign, and the tradition of gifting a diamond ring during a proposal was cemented in Western culture. De Beers took it a step further by adding a suggested price tag on that diamond ring with its ad that asked, “How can you make two months’ salary last forever?”
Similar to how engagement rings existed long before De Beers, Coca-Cola cemented a particular version of Santa Claus as an iconic character thanks to a marketing campaign. In 1931, the company commissioned a Dutch illustrator to create the big, jolly, white-bearded man in a red suit we have all come to associate with Christmas. Before then, Santa was depicted in many different ways from “a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf” in a variety of outfits, and wasn’t as commonplace as he is now.
It isn’t always to sell more product
Where did the idea come from that carrots are good for your eyesight? After reading this far, you may assume the carrot industry, but alas this one is a little different. During World War II, the notion that carrots gave a person better eyesight was reinforced and popularized by the British to hide secret military radar technology that helped them pinpoint enemy bombers, especially at night. One advertisement stated, “Eat carrots and leafy green or yellow vegetables…rich in Vitamin ‘A,’ essential for night sight.” Though it is true that a vitamin A deficiency can result in night blindness, an excess of it won’t necessarily improve eyesight.
Whether the Germans fell for the ruse is hard to know for sure, but the ads ensured the general public believed it would help them see during citywide blackouts. Carrots also became a crucial food that could be easily grown and used in recipes when German ships blocked many resources from making it to the country.
