Media Portrayal and Health Message

This case study examines the media portrayal of a health message, specifically focusing on the advertising of probiotics for gut health. It analyzes the target audience, which is broad and includes people of all ages and genders, and the marketing strategies employed, such as television commercials and campaigns in pharmaceutical stores. The study highlights the importance of using trusted sources like doctors in advertisements to build credibility and the effectiveness of combining different advertising methods to raise awareness and encourage product trials. The case study also emphasizes the role of government-regulated entities in building trust and ensuring product safety.

Electronic Media, Technology, and Society
Media Portrayal and Health Message
Health is the most important and crucial factor, which has raised concerns in the whole world
due to changing the environment. The increase in lifestyle and medical expenses has forced
people to adopt various pro-health behaviors to limit the effect of diseases on their health. Health
is a very wide area and domain, covering various issues. But there are certain health issues that
can be limited by changing daily habits and routine. Advertisements play a pivotal role in
establishing a connection with the people regarding the concerns and imparting knowledge
regarding several health parameters. This is attributed to the reason, most of the people watch
advertisements and consider it to be a reliable source of information. Its easy and quick access
has offered a great potential for advertising health issues and counter measures. Advertising
using multiple or specific sources helps to raise awareness and target a larger population.
One of the health message being advertised is the "Daily bacteria – Healthy Gut." As catchy and
interesting it sounds, this advertisement and slogan have caught the attention of several persons,
and they have inquired regarding the same. This health message was directed to impart
knowledge to persons regarding gut-associated problems, which are very common and frequent
among people of all age and gender. This problem is related to eating habits and changing
lifestyle. The people were addressed about issues like improper digestion, diarrhea, gas problems
and low metabolic rate, etc. All these problems can be limited and inhibited by consuming these
good and healthy bacteria on a daily basis, which are scientifically referred to as ‘Probiotics.'
These microorganisms are very useful in improving the gut as they adhere to them and can even
kill cancer-causing agents. These microbial strains have been improved in scientific laboratories
to impart more functionalities, without having any side-effects.
Target Audience
The most important factor associated with the role of this health advertisement is that it is not
limited and contained to specific age and gender. It applies to any person and at any stage of life.
The advertisement covers one of the most common health issue and counter measures to tackle
them. The consumption of these bacteria will increase the metabolic rate, absorption of vitamins
and minerals, kill harmful bacteria that may cause ulcers and gastric problems. In some cases, it
is reported that these bacteria also limit the growth of bacteria that may cause cancer. The

Electronic Media, Technology, and Society
advertisement strategy implemented for the above health message were television commercials,
which were paired with doctor interventions and campaigns.
As we know, 80 % of the population watches advertisements and are affected by them. This
made their role and implementation for advertising this health message as important and crucial.
Television commercials are broadcasted whole day, and these advertisings were paired with
certified doctors, who explained their potential role in eliminating these diseases. Doctors were
important in the advertisement as they can properly explain the product and are trusted by all.
The product is FDA approved i.e. under government regulations. This can offer people to have a
trust and faith in the product and will buy to see the changes on trial basis, as the product does
not offer any side-effects under prescribed consumption. Another advertising strategy
implemented was, setting of campaigns which were paired with pharmaceutical stores. These
stores are again government regulated, and people were offered free products to try on a trial
basis. The doctors actively participated in the campaign to raise more awareness and to answer
the audience regarding its benefits and consumption.
The use of both these advertisements is not random as they are related to each other. Firstly the
use of television commercials will create awareness among the audience, and people will try to
buy them from pharmaceutical stores. Now, these stores are associated with the campaigning
strategy, where these persons can get further insight regarding the product, giving a more clear
vision to customers.