Pestering Parents: How Food Companies Market Obesity to Children
Margo G. Wootan
Researchers: Jill McClain, Rachel Meltzer, and Deborah Truman
Publisher: Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
Published: 2007
Pages: 66
CSPI Hits Marketing Junk Food to Kids: Food Companies Undermine Parents, Overfeed Kids, Says Report
Food marketing aimed at kids undermines parental authority and helps fuel the epidemic of childhood obesity, according to a report issued today by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The volume and variety of marketing techniques has exploded, the group says, as food marketers seek new ways of bypassing parents and directly influencing kids’ food choices. Regrettably, most of the foods marketed directly to children are high in calories and low in nutrition, the group says.
“Parents are fighting a losing battle against food manufacturers and fast-food restaurants, which use aggressive and sophisticated techniques to get into children’s heads and prompt them to pester their parents to purchase the company’s products,” said Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at CSPI and the report’s author. “SpongeBob Squarepants, Winnie the Pooh, Elmo, and even sports stars like Jason Giambi are enlisted to push low-nutrition foods on kids.”
The CSPI report identifies a plethora of ways that companies target kids in their homes, in their schools, on the web, and wherever else kids go. Examples highlighted in the report include:
* Campbell’s “Labels for Education” program encourages families to collect labels from Campbell products that schools can redeem for equipment. It’s hardly model philanthropy, says CSPI, seeing that kids’ parents would have to buy some $2,500 worth of soup , for the school to qualify for a $59 stapler.
* Krispy Kreme “Good Grades” program offers elementary school kids one doughnut for each “A” on their report cards. CSPI points out that some states wisely prohibit or discourage using food as a reward for good behavior or academic performance.
* McDonald’s Barbie has the doll dressed up as a McDonald’s clerk, feeding French fries, burgers, and Sprite to kid-sister Kelly in a restaurant playset. “Unless McDonald’s is paying you for ad space in the playroom, leave this toy at the store,” Wootan said. Same goes, she says for other junk-food ads disguised as toys, like Play Doh’s Lunchables kit, where kids are encouraged to assemble Play Doh versions of Oscar Mayer’s notoriously fatty and salty lunch box items.
* The Oreo Adventure game on Kraft Foods’ Nabiscoworld.com web site is one of many corporate “advergames”. In this video game, children’s “health” is reset to “100 percent” when kids acquire golden cookie jars on a journey to a Temple of the Golden Oreo. The Oreo Matchin’ Middles shape-matching game, produced with Fisher Price, turns playtime into a chance for companies to cultivate brand loyalty
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