A departure from the norm in this week’s AOTW – and a chance for food companies to see what they’re up against. Digital health service Numan, which offers weight-loss medication, has created a personification of food – and he’s a bad guy.

Buffet Boy is an outputtingly oleaginous chap, whose outfit is comprised of foods. As an office worker attempts to get through her day, he tries to tempt her, waving éclair fingers in her face and even twerking his Danish pastry buttocks. Our gal isn’t having it. Her Numan weight-loss app and ‘hard capsules’ mean she wants only a bit of fruit.

Weirdly, there are healthy elements to Buffet Boy’s get-up: tomatoes, cucumbers and leafage complement his waffle shoulder pads and meaty torso. So, it’s disconcerting to see him at the end, all sweaty and defeated.

While he represents overindulgence, it’s still startling that such a character exists. Food advertisers may wish to consider counterattacks.

Topics