Family in Japanese Food Product TV Commercials (2011-2019)

In this work, Japanese family’s portrayal in TV commercials - a relatively understudied topic so far - was examined. By the means of document analysis based on statistical data, surveys and opinion polls, and a case study of a sample of 195 TV commercials, we attempted to investigate how family was portrayed in Japanese food TV CMs, what set the CM portrayal apart from the reality of the contemporary median Japanese families, and what kinds of implications it might have. To achieve this goal, we accomplished several tasks. First, we distinguished the demographic composition and main socioeconomic issues of family in Japan as well as Japanese governmental family policies in 2011-2019. Second, we identified the key features of Japan’s national TV advertising and the place of food in Japanese TV discourse and identity politics, including the fostered relationship between food consumption and family. Finally, we analyzed the CM sample and compared it to the aforementioned findings. We assumed that Japanese TV commercials’ primary function is sociocultural, i.e. the promotion of certain values, norms and behaviours within a high-context culture that is Japan, and that to interact with potential consumers, an idealized image of the family that has managed to successfully overcome Japan’s current socioeconomic and demographic issues was used. Our hypotheses proved to be verified if limited to this particular research but also challenged. We found out that the portrayal of family contained distinguished sociocultural patterns and was overall idealistic but contained several prominent references to the reality as well. Simultaneously, however, we discovered the need to further investigate consumer stimulation and the dependence of the interpretation of commercials by various age and socioeconomic groups. We hope the study we conducted helps filling the gap on the studies of family in advertising and is helpful for understanding advertising in developed economies, high-context cultures and demographically and socioeconomically challenged, precarious societies.