Eric Schlosser argues that marketing to children is the easiest and most strategic way to meet sales forecasts. In his book Fast Food Nation, Schlosser states that, “eight year olds are considered ideal customers; they have about sixty-five years of purchasing in front of them.” Children are extremely malleable and easily influenced as they are forming their habits, opinions, and tastes. When companies market to kids, it is likely that the child will continue to purchase from that company as they grow up. The fast food industry greatly relies on its familiarity and consistency.
Fast food affects the society by making advertisements for kids which makes children
“The general public apparently believes subliminal advertising exists” (Broyles 393) however, what effects, if any, are there to the people that view them? There is a belief that companies can influence our behavior in life to the extent where they can, in part, remove the consumers ' choice in their purchases. The idea of advertising firms crafting advertisements with hidden messages that influence the audience to shop at stores, buy a certain product or even which foods we ingest is common in contemporary culture. David Zinczenko addresses many concerns about the marketing and health impacts of the fast food industry in his article, “Don’t Blame the Eater”. Zinczenko says is directly, “Fast-Food companies are marketing to children a product
In the article, “ Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko’s, he explains that it is not the children’s fault for eating fast food but the companies who keep expanding in local areas where it is-easier-for children to get a taste. Zinczenko agrees that it is not healthy for the body and it is a worldwide problem that most families are facing today. The villain in this true story is the industries that do not stop making these unhealthy fast food for children and spread advertisement all over the media. Don’t blame the eater, blame the government to make more strict rules on a healthy environment.
Also in the advertisements it’s not just focused to the kids, its sent to the parents also. If they say “One free toy in every kid’s meal for only $2.99”, a lot of parents would think it’s a good deal and if it’s getting late and there’s no dinner planned for the night, they will think that the fast food is cheap, convenient, and that the meal is the price you pay for. I have a little sister that’s almost eight years old and if we go through the drive through she always asks for a kid’s meal that comes with a toy, but did you know you can substitute the toy for an ice-cream cone? They “killed one bird with two stones”, in way because they just sold you unhealthy food and just on top of that a dessert. This is another example of how fast food is unhealthy for you and how they trick you to make the unhealthy choice that may seem
Food ads are all around us, on our phones, on billboards, on tv, and everywhere in between. They advertise the foods people have come to love. Maybe it's a Big Mac, or Whopper, it doesn't matter what is being advertised. They all do the same thing; they use techniques and tricks to get people to go there. This especially affects children.
The commercials on the television, the advertisements placed on newspapers and the banners by big conglomerates have one thing in common: They are mostly geared towards children. Chapter 2 of the book Fast Food Nation, written by Eric Schlosser provides a history of two big American companies, McDonalds and Disney, and how their selfish desires led to marketing directed towards children. Schlosser’s central idea and usage of argumentative techniques along with bias define this chapter’s purpose as an educational work designed to reveal the antics of big money corporations. The central idea of this chapter is focused solely on the greed and selfishness of big corporations as they try to advance their business and gain profits while being
Around ⅕ of the advertisements directed at children are on the topic of food, while only around ⅛ of adult advertisements are about food (Source A). As such, the influence of marketing unhealthy foods and eating habits is much more extreme for children than their adult counterparts. This disparity in advertisement coupled with the fact that very young children are “unable to evaluate advertising claims” causes harm when the advertisements are not positive (Source C). Companies advertising junk food can then easily influence the choices children make in a negative way, “[distorting] their view of the world” (Source C). Clearly, negative advertising is a problem, but not one that isn’t solvable.
Parents usually blame the advertisements that pass on television promoting junk food and believe that it is persuading the child to buy or consume the product that is been promoted. But in reality the advertisement is for the parents but and the parent will take the decision if it is good for their kids. When they show the image of the product on television the image might seem really appetite that would convince someone to go and buy the product. That is the person 's opinion of course and yeah eat in a fast food restaurant is not a bad thing but some people don 't the the damage it can make the body. There have been people who eat everyday out and in two weeks gain more than 5 pounds and their cholesterol raises.
The Federal Trade Commission had a Health and Human Services secretary interviewed, explain how children are strongly influenced by advertisements. “Children are strongly influenced by the foods they see advertised on television and elsewhere. encouraging healthy eating among children will have a significant impact on reducing the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic. ”(Source E). This demonstrates how children can be influenced off of advertisements from T.V. and
With today’s technology, most kids have a T.V. in their bedroom or access to one where they will likely view at least 40,000 commercials every year. Children are exposed to commercials featuring foods that cause unhealthy habits and toys that cause materialistic views. In 2010, the McDonald’s fast food chain was sued by a mother in California, because she claims that McDonald’s adverting tactic of including a toy with their Happy Meals is deceptive and is causing children to adopt poor eating habits.
This statement is so true because when my little brother sees toys or junk food on television he immediately begs my parents to buy either one for him. The majority of commercials during programs aimed at children are for unhealthy high-fat, high sugars or high-salt foods with little nutritional value. Not all parents are aware of how their children are exposed to marketing campaigns that influence their children. Some top food choices for kids attack kids by their appealing commercials. The commercials use bright colors, a funny icon cartoon character, older kids, and catchy phrases.
With the amount of power, food advertising companies hold over a child’s diet, many parents wake to find solutions for their child. As most parents struggle to set limits, corporations often undermine parental authority by encouraging children to nag or complain. This can portray children to believe that their parents are mean or unfair. When discussing the strategy for selling Kraft Lunchables, a marketing expert put it this way: “Parents do not fully approve—they would rather their child ate a more traditional lunch—but this adds to the brand’s appeal among children because it reinforces their need to feel in control ( Neville 2001, 17). ’’
Children are a very profitable business for junk food so much so that “American children spend nearly $30 billion of their own money annually on such foods, and companies design products to tap this market” (Nestle). It is the role of advertising that contributes to a multi billion-dollar business among children. Companies spend a drastic amount of money to ensure children know their brands. For instance companies “support sales of “kids' foods,” with marketing budgets totaling an estimated $10 billion annually”(Nestle). Companies spend great amounts of money on advertising and not for nothing.
Fast food is considered popular because it 's convenient, it 's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu. Fast food marketers marketing to children and adolescents has skyrocketed throughout the last century. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, funded by the government, "In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970 's" ("Healthy Schools"). In fact, this statistic is predicted to increase significantly as fast food restaurants are continuously being built everywhere in the U.S. Fast food restaurants are everywhere.
