Mc Donalds will make you stronger. Reeses Puffs cereal will make you a rap star. Ring Pops will make you a celebrity. Lies. At least those who create these false advertisements know that that the above statements aren’t true but by golly they want their best customers to believe that they are. Those great customers, the vulnerable youth are paying the price for it. Food advertising aimed at children manipulates
the emotions of children to now only get them buying junk food but to keep them buying junk food while simultaneously sending a message to parents that getting their child the fast food will make them a better parent.
A young man eats his Recees puff cereal in the moring. All of a sudden he is on a stage in the middle of his kitchen rocking out to a catchy tune with his favorite rappers “ I want ,my r double e e s es “ Reeses Puffs, Reeses Puffs, peanut butter chocolate flavor” What kid wouldn’t want to be him? Poised, hip and full of swag, he is the ultimate in cool. Many times while growing up children can be insecure and will do anything to fit in or appear cooler and that’s what these food companies count on. Building on that, “emotional appeals of social enhancement and peer acceptance were found in 34% of food advertisements, in general, and 54% of fast food ads.” (Arch Pediatr)
Although it seems low down to prey on a child at their most vulnerable stages it works and these kids will come back like lost sheep and graze again ( well buy again)
Every child wants a good relationship with their parent and every parent wants a good relationship with their child (or at least that’s how it should be) According to these food advertisements aimed at children, so it can be. At least under one condition.. You eat their food.
Take this commercial for example
Mom goes with her son to Mc Donald's, and they have a sweet bonding moment. How nice.. Not to mention that the food is “healthy” ( only if chicken nuggets made from cast away meat scraps can be considered healthy). If I didn’t know any better I would want to bond with my mom at Mc Donald's too. They already knew that “the ads aimed at 'minivan parents' would carry an unspoken message about taking your children to McDonald's: 'It's an easy way to feel like a good parent.” (Schlosser, Eric) And let’s just say these other food giants have a similar thought process.
So what have we learned today? Well, food advertisement aimed at children are EVIL . Okay maybe not evil, but not only does it toy with their emotions but the emotions of their parents in order to sell food. Although a genius strategy well employed by Ray Kroc of Mc Donald’s fame, it is wrong. Unless something is done, children will end up in this foolish food fantasy that is well; fake.
Citations
"Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med -- Trends in Exposure to Television Food Advertisements Among Children and Adolescents in the United States, September 2010, Powell Et Al. 164 (9): 794." Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a Monthly Peer-reviewed Medical Journal Published by AMA. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/164/9/794>.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LzMtL6cT4I
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