Food Advertising Effectiveness

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The Effectiveness of Food Advertisements on Children and How it can be Fixed According to Esther Han, children watch on average three “unhealthy” food ads per hour, and McDonald’s makes up to 47% of fast foods ads that are viewed on air (Han). Fast food advertising has infiltrated and destroyed the livelihoods of many Americans, especially the children of our nation. Ads have been found to specifically target children, like Happy Meals from McDonald’s or toys being awarded to kids who eat their products. Increasing numbers of obese children in the United States has been found to in trend with an increase of food advertising. However, people have advocated for limiting this advertising and educating children on how to avoid falling into their…show more content…
According to a study done by Yale, food companies spent about $4.6 billion on ads, of which an indicative amount were fast-food companies specifically targeting kids (Children and Food). The study makes it apparent that the fast-food industry is willing to spend resources to tap into this market because they believe there is profit to be made by targeting the innocent. Another example would be that, in educational TV, for only thirty seconds of on air-time, advertisers are willing to pay $200,000. Because they can reach 40% of the teenage population, it is viable to spend so much (Impact of Food). They are specifically targeting students in a educational environment in order to add more credibility to themselves. Mcdonald’s and other fast food companies use bright colors and catchy tunes to capture the attention of people, and especially children (Bubar). The adveristing industry has their craft down to a science of influencing the minds of their viewers. In one particular ad McDonald’s featured a young boy enjoying McDonald’s after his dad passed away, as a way to remember his dad. There was a public outcry against this advertisement, as it was seen as insensitive and distasteful (Graham). Here a predatory approach was taken towards the minds of children, and although this might have hurt their public appearance, it still creates press and draws attention to their…show more content…
The rate childhood obesity is more than doubling levels seen in the three preceding decades (Children and Food). A 100% increase doesn’t happen without some sort of impetus, and there is an obvious culprit to be spotted in the advertisements seen frequently on television. Every burger or chicken finger ad is a attempt to profit, and each profit is at the expense of the health of the customer. The evidence is there to back up the hypothesis, “Research has found strong associations between increases in advertising for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity,” (Impact of Food). There is a strong correlation shown between the recent rise of these food advertisements and the rates of obesity among children and teens. According to other experts, the current food environment is the major factor causing the obesity epidemic (Boyland). The food environment being the combined influences in the area that the individual or the population resides
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