Wednesday, October 1, 2008

An Economy of Cheap Comfort Foods

Interesting segment on ABC World News last night. The sale of inexpensive comfort foods is up, as is the advertising for said foods. Campbell's soup, DiGiorno pizza, Kellogg's...they're all touting their thrifty eats. Campbell's general manager even admitted that they haven't been as "explicit in focusing on value probably since the 1920s or 1930s." When the stock market took a dive on Monday (remember that 778 drop in the Dow?), the only stock on the S&P 500 index to go up was...drumroll...yup, Campbells.

The segment goes on to say that biologically, this marketing tactic makes sense. Animal studies suggest that fatty comfort foods may ease stress. They are sooooo preaching to the choir. If I could live on cupcakes, I would. I would.

Personally, I've noticed more ads focused on savings. I saw the first commercial for Kool Aid that I've seen in years. It wasn't very exciting, but it just felt unusual. Same goes for Velveeta. I can't believe they still make that stuff!!

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