Year 11 Students Transform Healthy Eating with Creative Food Advertising
Food advertisements wield a significant influence over adolescent food choices. Big-budget companies often promote less nutritious options through clever marketing, capturing the attention and taste buds of young consumers. But at Santa Maria College, we empower our students to turn the tables on this trend.
Our Year 11 students embarked on an innovative project to create a simple, nutritious food product and develop an enticing advertisement to rival those of fast-food giants. Their mission was to market a healthy takeaway alternative that speaks directly to their peers.
Understanding Adolescent Nutrition
The project kicked off with an exploration of adolescents’ nutritional needs and the powerful sway of food advertising. Students delved into how marketing strategies impact their food choices, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the forces at play.
From Concept to Creation
From their research, our students set out to create a nutritious twist on popular takeaway foods. They developed their food products, paying close attention to health benefits and taste. But the journey didn’t stop there. Each student styled their creation, photographed it, and used the images to craft compelling advertising material.
Real-World Marketing Skills
This hands-on project not only taught our students about nutrition but also equipped them with valuable skills in food styling, photography, and marketing. They learned to think critically about the media they consume and how to promote healthier choices in a captivating way.
By fostering creativity and critical thinking, Santa Maria College is preparing the next generation to make informed food choices and challenge the status quo of food advertising. Our Year 11 students have proven that healthy food can be just as appealing and marketable as its less nutritious counterparts.
FROM THE STUDENTS
What was the most surprising thing you learned about how food advertising influences adolescent food choices?
The most surprising thing I learned about how food is advertised is that a lot goes into making it appealing to adolescents. You can’t just take a photo and that’s the end; you must style it in so many ways to enhance the appeal. People our age want the food to look amazing so they want to buy and eat it. In reality, it doesn’t look like that, and people are making it look amazing in ads. Piper
What part of the project did you enjoy the most and why?
I really enjoyed the cooking part of this process. Once we had gone through all the theory, we were able to create what we had been working on for a week, which was really rewarding and fun! I like how we were given a lot of time to create our product, so it was of a really high standard. Isabel
I enjoyed making my burger because I got to learn a new recipe and eat it afterwards. I also enjoyed making an advertisement as I got to let my creative side go wild. Ella
Can you describe the process you went through to create and market your healthy food product?
I made my own healthy wrap recipe by drawing on inspiration from other recipes. I then created an Instagram page to market my nutritious food product. To do this, I explored other Instagram pages and researched marketing and advertising, and food styling techniques. I also included vegan options in my Instagram advertisement to appeal to a wider audience. Eden
How do you think this project has changed your perspective on the food choices you make and the advertisements you see daily?
This project has made me more aware of how food advertisements manipulate images and advertisements to suit certain groups of people to influence them into buying it. This has influenced me to think critically about my food selections and whether the food item being advertised is actually nutritious or is it made to seem so. This task has also taught me there are lots of nutritious versions of classic takeaway food that taste better. Isabelle
- Creativity, Featured, Food Science
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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