D. Healthy Living · Healthy Living

Food Ads and Media: Who Is Trying to Sell Me Food?

D3.1 A1.6About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can name ways that advertising, food marketing and media try to affect what I eat and drink.
I can ask questions to figure out the message and the purpose behind a food ad.
I can tell the difference between a real body and an unrealistic body image in media.

Words to know

advertising
Messages that companies pay for to get people to buy a product.

food marketing
All the ways a company tries to sell food: ads, packaging, prizes, sponsorships, store displays and more.

target audience
The group of people an ad is made for, such as kids, teens or parents.

endorsement
When a famous person or influencer says they use or like a product, often because they are paid.

product placement
When a company pays to have its product shown in a movie, show, game or video.

claim
Something an ad says is true about a product, like "full of goodness".

fad diet
A popular eating plan that promises fast results, often by cutting out whole food groups. Most are not healthy or backed by good evidence.

Count the ads

Think about your day yesterday. Did you see a cereal box with a cartoon on it? A drink logo on a hockey rink board? A snack in a video or a game? A burger ad on a bus shelter? Most people see many food ads every day, and many are made for kids. Today you'll become an ad detective: someone who notices ads and asks smart questions about them.

Food ads show up in many places in a normal day. Noticing them is the first step for an ad detective.

Remember from Grade 4

Last year you learned what nutrients do, how to read % Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts table, and how to eat well at school, restaurants and events. This year you'll look at the outside forces that push your food choices: ads, packaging and media.

Why do companies advertise food?

Companies advertise to sell more. That's their job. An ad is not a lesson about health. Most food ads are for snacks, sugary drinks, candy, fast food and highly processed foods. You rarely see ads for plain apples, carrots or tap water!

Ads can change what we want, even when we don't notice. That's why it helps to stop and think.

Piles of red apples, carrots with green tops, bananas and leafy greens in a grocery store. — Fresh fruits and vegetables rarely get flashy ads or cartoon mascots, but they are some of the healthiest foods in the store. AI-generated image

Technique	What it looks like	Ask yourself
Cartoon characters and bright packaging	A smiling mascot, bright colours and fun shapes on a cereal box placed at kids' eye level	Is the food healthy, or just the box fun?
Prizes, games and loyalty programs	A toy inside, a code for a game, points or a free item after 10 visits	Am I buying the food or the prize?
Celebrity and influencer endorsements	A star athlete or YouTuber drinking a sports drink or eating a snack	Is this person being paid? Do they really eat this?
Social media posts	A cool video of someone trying a new candy, shared thousands of times	Is this an ad? Look for words like ad, sponsored or paid partnership.
Product placement	A brand of pop sitting on the table in a movie or show	Why is the label turned toward the camera?
Health-sounding claims	"Made with real fruit", "Natural", "Good source of energy"	How much fruit? What does the Nutrition Facts table say?
Bandwagon	"Everyone's eating it!" or "Canada's favourite snack"	Does popular mean healthy?

Common food marketing techniques and a question to ask about each.

Media and body image

Movies, shows, magazines and social media often show bodies that look "perfect". Many of these images are edited, use special lighting and makeup, or show only a very small range of body types. Real, healthy bodies come in many shapes and sizes.

Some articles and posts promote fad diets that promise fast results by cutting out whole food groups. Growing bodies need many kinds of foods. A fad diet is not a healthy choice for kids.

The ad detective's 5 questions

Who made this ad, and who paid for it?
Who is it trying to reach (the target audience)?
What technique is it using to get my attention?
What is it leaving out? (Nutrition facts? Sugar? Price?)
Can I check the claim? Look at the Nutrition Facts table and ingredient list, or a trusted source.

Worked example

Let's be ad detectives together

A cereal box shows a cartoon tiger on a skateboard. Big letters say "Made with whole grains!" and "Free sticker inside!" The box is on the bottom shelf.

Who made it? The cereal company. They want to sell cereal.
Who is it for? Kids: the cartoon, the skateboard, the sticker and the low shelf where kids can see it.
Techniques: a cartoon character, a prize, and a health-sounding claim.
What's left out? The front doesn't tell us how much sugar is inside. "Made with whole grains" doesn't say how much whole grain.
Check it: turn the box over. If sugars are 15% DV or more per serving, that's a lot of sugar, even with some whole grains.

The box uses three techniques to attract kids. The health claim might be partly true, but we need the Nutrition Facts table to judge the cereal.

The front of a package uses a mascot, claims and prizes to sell. The back has the Nutrition Facts table and ingredients that tell the facts.

Worked example

Let's think about a sports drink ad

In an online video, a famous hockey player gulps a bright blue sports drink and scores a goal. The words say: "Fuel like a pro."

Technique: celebrity endorsement. The player is very likely being paid.
Message: if you drink this, you'll play like a pro.
Is it true? Drinking a drink doesn't give you a pro's skills. Those come from years of practice.
Health check: most sports drinks have added sugar. For a normal kids' practice or game, water is usually the best drink.

The ad sells a feeling (being a star), not a health benefit. Water is the better choice for most kids' sports.

Just for fun

What if carrots had a cartoon mascot and a big claim on the bag?

"Captain Crunch-a-Lot says: now made with 100% carrot!" For once, that health claim would be completely true. 🥕

Hands-on activity

Ad hunt at home

You need: a grown-up, some food packages from your kitchen, paper, a pencil, and (with permission) a TV show, flyer or video.

Find 3 food packages made for kids. For each, list the techniques you see: cartoons, prizes, bright colours, claims.
Turn each package over. Find the sugars and sodium on the Nutrition Facts table. Does the front match the back?
Watch one show or flip through a grocery flyer with your grown-up. Count the food ads you see. What kinds of foods are they?
Design your own ad for a healthy food, like apples, carrots or water. Use one technique you learned, but make every claim true.

What to look for: your child names at least two techniques and checks one claim against the Nutrition Facts table.

Your turn

What is the main reason companies advertise food?

Name three food marketing techniques.

What is product placement?

What words might show that a social media post is an ad?

Why might a cereal box be placed on a low shelf?

Are the bodies we see in movies and ads always real? Explain.

Where can you check whether a health claim is true?

More practice: warm-up

True or false: an ad's main job is to teach you about health.

A toy comes with a kids' meal. Which technique is this?

A famous singer holds a can of pop in an ad. Which technique is this?

"Everyone's buying it!" Which technique is this?

What is usually the best drink for a kids' soccer practice?

More practice: on your own

A juice box says "Made with real fruit!" Why should you still check the label?

A coffee shop gives a free drink after you buy 9. How might this change what people buy?

Your favourite gamer eats a certain chip brand in every video. What questions should you ask?

Why do you rarely see TV ads for broccoli?

A magazine says, "Lose weight fast: cut out all bread!" Why is this not good advice for a growing kid?

Challenge

Compare two granola bars. Bar A has a cartoon bear and says "Wholesome!" Sugars: 25% DV. Bar B has a plain wrapper. Sugars: 8% DV. Same serving size. Which is the better choice for sugar, and what does this teach you about packaging?

Write a true slogan for an ad for water. Explain why it is true.

A friend says, "If an athlete drinks it, it must be healthy." Give two reasons this thinking is a problem.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Why do companies make food ads?

A star athlete is paid to drink a sports drink in an ad. This is a...

Which question helps you check an ad's claim?

A post says #ad at the bottom. What does this tell you?

Which statement about bodies in media is true?

A cereal says "Made with whole grains!" What should you do?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers the Grade 5 expectation to describe how advertising, food marketing and media affect food choices, and explain how these influences can be evaluated to help people make healthier choices (D3.1). The curriculum's examples include TV commercials, packaging, celebrity endorsements and social media, product placement, idealized body images, fad diets and loyalty programs; all are included here.

How to help at home:

Point out ads together in a non-preachy way: "What's this ad trying to make us feel?"
At the grocery store, notice which products sit at kids' eye level.
Turn packages over and compare the front claims with the Nutrition Facts table.
Talk about edited images. Many children don't realize photos are routinely changed.

Common difficulties: thinking that a health-sounding word ("natural", "wholesome") means a food is healthy; not recognizing influencer content as advertising. Keep the focus on thinking critically, not on labelling foods "good" or "bad", and avoid comments about weight or body size.

This lesson builds critical and creative thinking (A1.6).