Advertising takes up an extraordinary amount of time of television. For an hour long TV program slot, 15 minutes is solely advertising and commercials, leaving only 45 or so minutes for the actual show. Even more, in sports programs it often seems like no sooner does the game come back on than it goes right back to a commercial break, so that there is almost more time spent watching ads than the game. 
    Ads typically have a catchy tune, an interesting graphic, or a funny storyline to catch the attention of viewers. And as television programmers spend so much time showing commercials, viewers are practically forced to take in a very large number of ads on a regular basis. Particularly as Americans on average watch 34 hours of television per week, according to Neilson research. For this reason, it is important to see what kind of ads viewers are watching and how they impact the audience.
    One of the heaviest advertising industries is the food and beverage enterprise. From commercials advertising the deliciousness of a soda to PSA's talking about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables,we are constantly inundated with food advertisements, many of while are edited to make the food look better than it actually looks in real life. While many of these commercials often promote unhealthiness, there is a new movement to promote good nutrition habits.

    On the unhealthy side, as a research study on the "Priming Effects of Television Food Advertising on Eating Behavior" says, "advertising for food and beverages communicates potentially powerful food consumption cues, including images of attractive models eating, snacking at nonmeal times, and positive emotions linked to food consumption." These commercials tend to be on more adult channels, particularly sports ones. While watching a football game, I saw many commercials for products such as Coca-Cola or Papa John's pizza with cute images of polar bears holding Coke cans or deliciously greasy pizza. The spokes people talked about how tasty these products were, leaving out the "nutrition" information. Seeing so many commercials of healthy foods that portray them in a positive light leads more adults to think of and often buy these disgusting products.
    On the other hand, many kids' programs are trying to fix the obesity epidemic, as obesity is rising to the forefront as the deadliest disease in America. Disney Channel, especially, is making a big change in their advertising to promote healthy living and eating to their viewers. For example, one commercial shows a Disney Channel Star rapping about the importance of eating a large and balanced breakfast to kick-start the day. Another shows a son and dad both drinking soda, until the mother sees that the son is doing exactly what the father is doing, so she hands the dad a bottle of water. The spokesperson then says that replacing one sugary drink a day can help reduce overall sugar intake. As kids are very susceptible to ideas they see on television, seeing this kind of healthy advertising could begin to change the generation's eating habits.
    As a photographer and graphic designer, I often look at ads more for their artistic merit than their content. But, although I eat a very healthy and balanced diet, whenever I see commercials for fast food, soda, pizza, or other unhealthy foods that I avoid, I instantly crave them.The same applies across the board for all age groups watching TV. For this reason, it is important for television programmers to look at the food products they are advertising and see if they are sending the right message to their viewers. While most probably won't go as far as Disney who is not re-signing contracts with any unhealthy advertisers beginning in the next couple years, but maybe more channels will cut back on their programming. Then, in a more perfect world, companies might assess their products and try to make them healthier so that they could make more money in advertising again.