Big Food Ad Strategies Focus On Farmers And Freshness (VIDEO)

McDonald's new ad campaign, set to debut January 2, focuses on the farmers that supply McDonald's with food. It's a different strategy than previous campaigns, designed to connect the farm with the table. In other words, if those french fries look lifeless and processed to you, fear not! Farmer Frank Martinez cares so much about those potatoes that he eats them raw.

McDonald's isn't the only large food corporation trying to change the focus of its ads. In collecting the recent ads of some of America's biggest food companies, two consistent strategies emerge: Farmers and Freshness. The companies focusing on farmers made sure to give farmers a sense of salt-of-the-earth hero worship; without these men and women, the ads suggest, the food on your plate simply wouldn't taste as good as it does. For the companies focusing on freshness, each ad linked freshness with overall taste quality, assuming the fresher and "realer" the food is, the better it will taste.

So are these ads the real deal or just some fancy jargon that ultimately means nothing? Check out our slideshow below and decide for yourself.