Food advertisements are a major tool in grocery, c-store and food or beverage retailers to reach consumers. Like the food we eat, we first taste through the eyes and advertising is no different. However, food advertisements have changed from the billboard ads and magazine spreads popular in prior decades to intricate social media and online campaigns. Now, we first taste in pixels, and the creativity and ability to connect with consumers directly has never been higher.

In this article, we explore the top tips to know for creating food advertisements in 2025.

Through analyzing prior examples, looking at overall industry trends, and considering the technology available today, this article is a must-use guide for marketers planning a food-related advertising campaign.

Food advertisements are a marketing tool to promote food and beverage products to consumers. They come in many different formats -- television commercials, print ads, digital banners, Instagram posts, Google search ads, Tiktok posts, billboards, and more. The goal of the advertisement is to capture interest, ultimately influencing purchasing decisions.

Food advertisements can differ from other sources of advertising by focusing on the sensory appeal and culinary aspects of a product. Sensory appear refers to how a food or beverage product looks, tastes, or smells while culinary aspects often refer to how a product can be used in meal preparation. Because food is so fundamental to our daily life, food advertisements often rely on emotional or experiential cues like comfort, indulgence, nostalgia, health or convenience to connect with consumers.

Because of how food advertisements connect with the target audience on a sensory and emotional level, food advertising has evolved from static, traditional formats to interactive campaigns on social media and online. High-quality visuals and user-generated content allows marketers to engage consumers with a more personalized, immersive and immediate experience. The new goal is to let consumers "taste through their eyes" online before making a purchase.

There were many food advertising campaigns in 2024 that connected food brands and retailers with audiences. Here's a few example campaigns that showcase innovative food campaigns:

The first example of innovative marketing in 2024 is Powerade's Pause is Power campaign, which featured headline advertising such as the above Simone Biles "The Vault" clip as well as numerous TikTok videos shown below. The Pause is Power resonated with audiences showing the emotional vulnerability of athletes, demonstrating the power of creating powerful immersive and immediate connections.

Lesson: connecting emotionally to audiences creates meaningful engagement

The WcDonald's food advertisement campaign from McDonald's shows the power of authentically connecting to trends. The anime trend, as reported previously by Granularity CEO during presentations to sponsorship executives, was a trend that gained massive popularity in North America during the early 2020's, and has relatively high staying power since then.

Lesson: leveraging trends allows for authentic connection to new audiences and existing consumers

Metro, the Canadian grocery chain, also uses trending soundbites and content mixed with employee reactions and footage to create social media content that resonates with a wide audience. The example above shows how connecting with audiences in 2024 meant creating authentic, immersive, and natural experiences that resonated with the rest of the social media feed.

Lesson: authenticity while engaging with social media trends creates positive engagement

Food advertising resonates best when it aligns with a specific target audience. Marketing campaigns with audiences well defined tend to perform better on average, and its because they meet consumer expectations. According to Zendesk, 68% of consumers expect personalized outreach and marketing. When you define a target audience, narrow while remaining broadly appealing, food advertising becomes easier as you speak directly to the emotional, sensory, and cultural expectations of your target market.

But, deciding your target market is only step 1a. Truly transformative marketing campaigns can begin by engaging new target markets by adapting based on social market conditions. For example, McDonald's embraced common TikTok menu hacking videos by sponsoring videos on menu hacking like the one below. This campaign is targeted at the common McDonald audience, but evolved naturally from social media trends.

If you're targeting Gen Z, consider reading expert opinions blogs like this one by Granularity.

Being authentic and elaborate to your message and audience, such as the above examples of Powerade's Pause is Power or McDonald's WcDonald's campaigns, build a stronger sense of immersion by consumers watching content. Minimalism, which can be equated to professional or staged content, is undergoing a transition to elaborate, brighter and genuine designs and content. This spreads not just on social media, but also in visual advertising, as reported by Grocery Dive.

Marketing campaigns have been split into two camps: always-on marketing and traditional marketing campaigns. While both co-exist in most companies today, there is clearly a benefit to leveraging the insights from always-on marketing to align to trends that match your company's product or industry.

For example, Metro used the "friendsgiving" trend to create viral content with example products. This is an example of leveraging trend detection software like Granularity to keep always-on marketing fresh and on the pulse of social media conversations.

The advertising journey doesn't end when the ad is up. The best marketers follow ad success by continually evaluating how well the ad performed, what audience it brought in versus the one you targeted, and whether the message was received as expected. Thorough post-mortems can bring each food advertisement campaign to new heights as you learn from the experiences of the last campaign. Data-backed evidence is important as well, leveraging tools that discover social media trends and monitor campaigns to help inform these retrospectives.

Food advertisements are marketing campaigns that showcase food or beverage products, highlighting taste, visuals, and emotions to spark consumer interest and influence purchasing decisions.

They engage consumers on a sensory level, forging emotional connections and driving product awareness. In a crowded market, they help brands stand out and create loyal followers.

They’ve moved from static billboards and print spreads to dynamic social media and online campaigns. Today, consumers “taste in pixels” via immersive, interactive content.

Standout examples include Powerade’s “Pause is Power” and McDonald’s WcDonald's campaigns. Both leveraged emotional storytelling, emerging trends, and social media to captivate audiences.

Focus on a defined target audience, authentic storytelling, and trend alignment. Use vibrant visuals, user-generated content, and data-driven insights to stay relevant and impactful.

Authentic, relatable content fosters trust and emotional resonance. Consumers prefer genuine stories and experiences over highly polished or staged ads, boosting engagement and loyalty.

Trends keep campaigns fresh and timely. Always-on marketing taps into real-time conversations—like friendsgiving—to engage new audiences and stay ahead of shifting consumer interests.

Track metrics like engagement, sales uplift, and audience feedback. Post-campaign analysis helps you refine strategies, ensuring each new food advertisement resonates even more effectively.