Turn on almost any movie or television sitcom with a breakfast scene and chances are you’ll see orange juice on the table. From Hallmark Channel Christmas movies to episodes of Ted Lasso, glasses of orange juice accompany eggs and toast – undeniably setting the scene for breakfast.
Why Orange Juice? Food has many roles on screen: it can help viewers understand a character’s personality or financial status, move a storyline along, or simply indicate time of day. Orange juice is easily identifiable, has a longstanding reputation as a breakfast beverage, and is the most consumed 100% fruit juice in America. A glass of OJ on the table instantly indicates breakfast without any further context needed.
How often do we see Orange Juice? This is hard to quantify. As members of the Florida Citrus industry, we are much more likely to notice when orange juice appears on-screen than others, but these personal observations are anecdotal and hard to track. However, there is some scientific evidence on the matter. Researchers have looked at how often specific foods and beverages appear in television and movies, often for the purpose of examining the nutrition depicted on-screen and its potential impact on viewers.
In a recent scientific analysis on the nutritional quality of foods and beverages in movies, researchers discovered citrus juice appeared 114 times in the 250 top-grossing U.S. movies between 1994 and 2018. Though this is a small portion of on-screen drinks (about 2%), citrus juices represented more than two-thirds of fruit juice on-screen. Ultimately, the study found that the majority of foods and beverages included in movies are unhealthy, however, the researchers considered 100% orange juice as one of the healthiest options shown on screen.
Why’s this important? First, looking at both scientific and anecdotal evidence, the apparent popularity of orange juice on television and in movies represents the firm status of the beverage in American culture. Is breakfast even breakfast without orange juice?
Second, multiple studies confirm that the foods and beverages featured in television shows and movies may have an influence on what viewers consume. Including 100% orange juice in breakfast scenes not only supports storytelling but does so in a way that encourages the consumption of a healthy beverage.
The bottom line: Consumer marketing can have ripple effects. Decades of promoting 100% orange juice as a great tasting and nutritional breakfast beverage helped orange juice gain the status it has today. Future efforts not only have the ability to impact sales but may help determine how 100% orange juice is perceived in years to come – both off and on-screen. Continuing a pipeline of scientific research and robust advertising programs is crucial to cementing Florida Orange Juice as The Original Wellness Drink.
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