AICE Media Studies Blog : Research Blog: Commercial Conventions

For our commercial, Leo and I have decided to promote Dunkin' Donuts. We thought that this would be a good topic because we both like their products and their locations will be very generous with giving us props. We want our commercial to properly reflect the products and the services related to the company. In order to do this, we have to find trends and patterns that show up in food and drink commercials. This could be tricks to make the products appear better, how people use advertising to appeal to the public, etc. We watched many commercials from Dunkin' Donuts themselves as well as others like Starbucks or Dutch Bros. This gave us a general understanding of how to structure the commercial, what to show, and what to say.

Common camera angles used for foods are 45 degree angles which show the most desirable side of the food. Another common angle used to demonstrate an appealing look of food is an overhead shot which is taken directly above the food. Straight on shots are commonly used for burgers because they make the food look more heroic and have a bigger impact on viewers. All of these angles allow the viewers to remain engaged with the food and give them the desire to go out and buy it, which is the ultimate goal of food commercials. Common lighting in food commercials are natural sunlight which gives the subject a more natural glow and produce dull shadows. Food commercials also use focused light sources to create sharper shadows and with this light, they can direct it with mirrors and reflectors. Lighting and angles are very critical components in filming a commercial.

Something else we noticed is that commercials for food and drink don't necessarily use actual food and drink, or they use a modified version of them. For example, spray deodorant is used on fruits and vegetables in order to make them shinier and more appealing to the viewers. The same goes for using engine oil on pancakes to avoid soaking, as well as shoe polish to perfectly color burgers and meats. Most of the products that we see on television are modified in certain ways to appeal to the viewer and, in this case, make them hungry enough to buy the product.