Foodmakers are planning to bombard you with advertising to keep you from ditching their carefully groomed brands for some blechy cheapo generics. Pay no attention as they try to re-brand their products as cheap and affordable. Here’s a small preview of what to expect…

From Sara Lee Corp.’s new ad campaign with The Walt Disney Co.’s “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” to Kraft’s new pizza commercials preaching “DiGiornonomics,” consumers should expect to be blitzed by food advertisements in the next year.

Many major food makers are promising boosts to their advertising in the new fiscal year or reporting their spending is up in the most recent one. Their ads seem to be hitting a variety of outlets, including print, television, in-store promotion and the Internet — which marketers say helps them hone in on consumers and get the most bang for their advertising buck.

Analysts say it makes sense, even as these companies grapple with high prices for oil, corn and grains.

Consumers aren’t going to change what they eat as they pull away from restaurants, said Harry Balzer, vice president of consumer research firm the NPD Group, and an expert on American eating patterns. They’re just going to look for bargains, and that can mean changing brands.

“It’s very hard for us to change our behavior. If we like ice cream, we’re going to continue eating ice cream,” he said. “Now the question is going to be what brand you’re going to buy.”

Remember, the Grocery Shrink Ray goes wild over brands. Savvy consumerists know to resist the advertising, and will see this as an opportunity to reaffirm their unending allegiance to the lowest price.

Foodmakers plan big ad campaigns in down economy [AP]
(Photo: GirlReporter)

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