Regulating Food Advertising

Food advertising to children is a controversial issue that is considered as a source of attention to many investigators and analysts due to its influential impact on children’s food choices and parents buying behavior. Food advertising is the primary type of advertising that people go through on a daily basis. Nowadays, the industry of food advertising is growing enormously in the middle east region and Malaysia as a result of the huge amount of food advertisements, especially junk food ads that reach people directly and indirectly through various mediums that deliver advertising contents to the audience. Children and youth are the main target audience for fast food advertisers, mainly because of their purchasing influence, exposure to TV and

Media promotes all forms of obesity. In If You Pitch It, They Will Eat, a New York Times article written by David Barboza, Susan Linn, a psychologist who studies children’s marketing at Harvard’s Judge Baker Children’s Center states, “It used to just be Saturday-morning television. Now it’s Nickelodeon, movies, video games, the Internet, and even marketing in schools”(5). Essentially, Linn is saying that their has been an increase in food marketing because of how advance technology has gotten which has lead to the increase of weight in children and many americans. David Barboza, in If You Pitch It, They Will Eat, explains how marketers use television by stating, “Marketers know that children love animals and cartoon characters, and industry observers say they have used that knowledge not just to create new shows but to produce a new generation of animated pitchmen”(29).

As Alexandra Sifferlin points out in her article “Forget the Food: Fast Food Ads Aimed at Kids Feature Lots of Giveaways,” published in Time on August 29th in 2013, “Between 2009 and 2010, when the scientists conducted their analysis, nearly all of the fast food ads –99%–that were aired nationally on children’s TV channels such as Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, were from McDonald’s and Burger King, and 70% of them included toy

“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

It has become common today to dismiss how fast food affects health worldwide. In David Zinczenko’s article, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” he emphasizes that fast food chains are contributing to the ongoing concern of obesity in America. In discussion of obesity, one controversial issue in “Don’t Blame the Eater” has been that fast food chains do not combine calorie information with their advertising meals. On the one hand, he asserts his unfortunate encounter with fast food throughout his childhood to further highlight his standing against fast food chain commerce. On the other hand, Zinczenko argues that diabetes in children have had a significant increase in a decade due to fast food.

It is almost like this ad is screaming these words at you, which helps to pound these words into your head and influence your decision on what you will eat. This is true whether we admit we are influenced by the ad or not because, as Kilbourne says in his essay, “In spite of the fact that we are surrounded by more advertising than ever before. Most of us still ridicule the idea that we might be personally influenced by it.”

Concerns have been voiced that food advertisements are partly to blame for children being overweight and

In David Freedman’s essay How Junk food Can End Obesity, Freedman makes the claim to policy arguing that instead of demonizing processed foods, Americans should instead support the idea and production of healthier processed and junk foods. He calls on the public to recognize that while many products on the market these days are labeled as “wholesome” and “healthy”, consumers should learn to become aware of the fat and calorie content in these products because many times they have the same- if not more- fat and calorie contents as that of a typical Big Mac or Whopper. In his essay, Freedman primarily places blame on the media and the wholesome food movement for the condemnation of the fast and processed food industries saying, “An enormous amount of media space has been dedicated to promoting the notion that all processed food, and only processed food, us making us sickly and overweight” (Freedman), he further expresses that this portrayal of the

Fast food companies have demolished competition throughout the last 30 years in the restaurant industry. The practices used to eliminate competition such as using unhealthy food to make a profit have been reported unethical by Americans, but it tends to be desired by the American society. According to the American Franchise Corporation, certified by TrustArc, fast food companies generate $570 billion annually in the United States ("Fast Food Industry Analysis"). These statistics continue to rise as more and more fast food companies become ubiquitous. As a result, fast food companies get richer, while people contract life-altering health effects. Throughout the last few decades, fast food companies have started popping out everywhere. With the

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

In the article “It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat,” by Shannon Brownlee explains how fast food companies persuade you to eat. In fast food places, they use fast food marketing strategies to induce an amount of people to eat more. Another strategy was called “smart research”. This strategy targeted “heavy users” and people who to go restaurants on a daily basis. Brownlee said that cheap products would influence us to buy more of them.

Parents need help from the government to help make changes in the environment that children grow up in. such as, limiting the unhealthy advertisements targeted at children, creating safe places for children to place and exercise, and encouraging parents to prepare nutritious meals for their children as opposed to fast food (Childhood Obesity). Interagency Working Group has started making a difference by setting recommendations for foods advertised to children. They also would like to make

Kids can be taught that what’s on an ad isn’t necessarily what they need.” At the end, marketers must maintain an appropriate structure or strategy without using people in a bad way. If it’s possible for a child being obsessed with a toy and food box, then it’s possible for him to like a sweet fruit box with an interesting book or comics, magazines etc. if we can support or teach them. We must accept that healthy food, exercising, protecting environment, enjoying beautiful sides of life, even choosing the best music or watching the proper advertisement - they are the best solutions for a good future even though they may be hard for some people to adapt.

5. Dieting ads targeting youth are harmful than beneficial. 6. Why medical insurance is essential? 7.

Childhood obesity is, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) one of the most public health challenges of the 21 century, with over 42 million children under 5 estimated to be overweight (WHO). The epidemic is caused by a global trend towards radically reduced physical activity levels. This is coupled by a global shift in diet towards energy-dense foods that are high in fat, salt and sugars (HFSS), but low in vitamins and minerals, and advertising and marketing for these types of food products are argued to be partly to blame for the shift in dietary intake. There are some considerable concerns expressed about the Level of children’s exposure to brands on social networks, leading to complex arguments about children’s resulting sense of reality and feelings of self-esteem. Skaar (2009) for example argues that the constant viewing of brands and products online, and the opportunity for children to adopt the strategies and resources of professional marketers to market them, lay foundations for social competition and reinforces patterns of exclusion and uniformity.