Tuesday 5 April 2011

TV Dinners

TV dinners used to be cool. Meals in individual trays were marketed to families who liked to sit and watch this new form of entertainment together. Prior to this, listening to a radio was compatible with sitting around a table.

The TV dinner, however, gained a poor reputation. The quality of the food was not all it could be. Meanwhile, families, like mine when I was growing up, thought it important  to sit around a table when eating as a family.

Nowadays, food is increasingly consumed in front of a computer. In a recent survey in the UK, 20% of people said they ate their evening meals in front of their computers. I have been known to eat lunch at my laptop, while amusing myself writing rubbish like this blog. Unlike the TV, computers (i-player, games, Facebook and so on) are sat at in solitude (although it can be social in networking terms).

I see an opportunity to reinvent the TV dinner, as the laptop dinner. Borrowing innovations from high-end airline food, and with healthier options and a bias toward finger foods, there must be a market for 3-course meals in one ergonomically-designed tray, so you can keep on with what you’re doing. Every pack could also include a specially designed cloth to wipe food off the screen and keyboard.

Here’s the benchmark for TV dinner advertising:

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