Thursday, 11 November 2010
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The Advertising Fast Food Monster
"I'm lovin' it."
"Have it your way."
"Eat fresh."
"Think outside the bun."
It's funny how I don't have to say where these silly phrases are from, since you've probably guessed one if not all of them are fast-food slogans.
We all know how these companies are using more and more advertising to get us to buy their food, BUT what about the children?
Children are a HUGE source for advertising. They are easily susceptible to ads, especially ones that feature characters or toys.
According to a study done by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity,
"Compared to 2003, preschoolers viewed 21% more fast food ads than in 2009, children viewed 34% more, and teens viewed 39% more."
But how can such easily influential minds protect themselves? Advertising is everywhere. Billboards, magazines, TV commercials, side bars of websites, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.
Advertising has created a monster.
By the way, don't let these "healthy sides" for kids fool you. At places like Wendy's, if a child got a crispy chicken sandwich, a Manadrin orange cup, and low-fat milk it's still over 500 calories. Now think about that if you exchanged the sides for french fries and a soda.
"You know when it's real."
What do you think can be done to help battle kids' exposure to influential ads?
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About the Author
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- From: Manny
- Name: Manny
- About Me: I'm a Jersey girl with a skinny body and a large appetite. I love Italian food, but I have a huge sweet tooth.
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Comments (14)
You probably can't without committing some serious violations of the First Amendment.
I agree...but children are not "a HUGE source for advertising." They are a huge target of advertising :P
If you swapped the crispy chicken for the grilled chicken, ten bucks says the meal would be a whole lot better for them!
1.) Limit time watching television
2.) Talk to them about the ads, explain things to them. Kids don't get enough credit anymore. If you actually sit down with them and talk to them, they can understand more than we give them credit for.
3.) Don't buy them fastfood, ever. I don't understand why people always give me a crazy look when I say this, as if people can't live without fast food or something.
SOME ways to help...we can never get rid of it all together. Critical thinkers will be more aware of the fact that the business is trying to sell you something for THEIR benefit, not YOURS.
wendys' slogan is such bullshit. it's not even real
But kids can't go out and buy this food. If their parents are firm, children give up using pester power because they know it won't work. Then the adverts don't have any effect.
I remember when I used to watch TV with my parents and whenever an advert came on I'd say "maybe we should buy some of that" - to which my parents would promptly say "they don't *really* do that" or "it's not *really* good for you". They taught me from a young age that adverts lie, so I learned not to pay attention :P
IT'S THE PARENTS FAULT FOR BUYING THE FOOD.
No one seems to understand that omg.
@venomxcupcake@xanga - exactly.
It's not the kid's fault. They don't have the resources to go out and buy themselves junk food. BLAME THE PARENTS.
OH I KNOW! If you don't want your kid eating fast food DON'T TAKE THEM THERE. If you're too busy and want to feed them fast food then DON'T COMPLAIN.
It doesn't really matter, because it's not like a kid typically goes out on it's own to buy whatever food it wants. Sure it can beg the parents but they need to put their foot down. It's the same thing as toy commercials, of course children are going to want whatever toy they see on tv, but it doesn't matter because they have to rely on the parents to get it for them. Same goes for food.
I worry about this, because as a child put in front of the TV often, junk food became extremely comforting to me, and commercials definitely reinforced that (Coke: "open happiness," the extremely unhealthy WaWa sandwich: "butterlicious," Pillsbury: "nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the oven" etcetcetc). It's up to the parents to combat this, but without interference these commercials can definitely heavily contribute to unhealthy thought processes about food in young people.
I think it's very sad. Yeah, it's always up to the consumer to be wary, but I hate when food companies seem like predators. I try to stay away from fast food all together at this point. Processed food is next.
I find it hilarious that it never occurs to anybody to simply say "NO" when little Billy demands McDonald's. I worked at a daycare and am quite accustomed to not giving children what they want. My parents never let us eat out and now I don't really enjoy it that much and I love vegetables/fruit, for which I am grateful.
You can control what children eat all you want when they're little, but what do you do as they start growing up? How can you prevent them from eating fast food if they want to go out with their friends and their friends eat it?
I'm always craving fast food, but I'm too lazy to go out and get it. Which is probably just as well.