Picture on the package.

A fresh image is worth a thousand words to shoppers who are being bombarded with more choices (and more marketing messages) on store shelves. They need and say they want pictures that instantly communicate. Graphics that have been around forever, even if they are longtime favorites, no longer do the job. The appeal of fresh pictures is growing along with the appeal of fresh foods; Internet audiences are captivated by the images that are accessible and available on Web sites like MySpace.com, Facebook.com, YouTube.com, and FoodNetwork.com. Even the staid New York Times is printing daily color pictures on its front page. Design companies that get rich by talking brand marketers into updating their graphics suddenly sound like shoppers' best friends.

Shoppers are blitzed with marketing words that seem conflicted or empty. Saturated with messages, they crave simplicity. Literacy rates are decreasing, especially in English. Music is accompanied by lyrics and videos. For these reasons, Consumer Network shoppers tell us that many of today's packages can use a little jazz, pizzazz and razzmatazz provided by pictures.

One shopper wants appetizing pictures on Pepperidge Farm 100% whole wheat bread to assure her that the bread is tasty as well as healthy. "Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat needs color or graphics that indicate it tastes good too," she says. Another bread shopper thinks, "Wonder Bread wrappers should have pictures of bread coming right out of the oven to say that it's really fresh, because you can't always find the freshness date."

Another shopper told us, "Heinz 60-oz. ketchup should be jazzed up with pictures of things that go with ketchup, not just clever sayings." Now that Betty Crocker has been updated to look a bit more contemporary, "Nestle chocolate chips need to be in a container with a resealable top and updated with brighter colors. The package is the same as when my mom bought it. "

Even Campbell's Soup Co., which added variety pictures to its labels only a few years ago and exchanged its red-and-white labels for pink in October in honor of breast cancer awareness month, looks passe and in need of some new color. "Campbell's Soup has dreary art work. They should pep up the labels on soup cans and sell soup like soft drinks with bold colors, multi-packs, easy-to-read copy, and clearer health information. "

Some shoppers are asking to be reminded of products' good-for-you virtues by pictures rather than word claims. "I'd like to be reminded of why I should eat Cheerios by seeing people on the box who personify a 'healthy heart.'" The message I get from these comments is: "Don't just tell me. Show me!"

* "SnackWells needs a cute logo or a mascot that says that these are 'healthy' cookies!!"

* "Vitamin and drug bottles need pictures or see-through windows. I hate buying blind because the packages don't show the size or shape of the tablet or capsule and there's no way to know how hard it will be for me or the kids to swallow. "

* "Pregnancy tests should have picture of a baby wrapped in a pink or blue blanket on the cover."

* "Varieties are hard to read on many drug bottles. Cough and cold remedies are the worst, but Mylanta needs easier to read flavors, too."

* "Frozen entrees need better graphics and nutrition information."

It appears that McDonald's got this message before we did. Starting in 2007, they will be putting consumers' pictures on their packages all over the world. Food Service Digest reported that McDonald's "has chosen 25 individuals from its online Global Casting Call. Their faces will appear on bags and cups starting in 2007. Consumers submitted a 100-word essay about what they love about life along with digital photos illustrating the essence of their stories. The people chosen for the packaging range in age from 5 to 60 and reside in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America." Word lovers will be less than thrilled with this latest setback for words, but in a world that's increasingly visual and increasingly cluttered, it seems to make sense.