Eye on Marketers

The Rudd Center's study on the marketing of sugary drinks reveals that children and teens' exposure to TV ads for soda doubled from 2008 to 2010 and that beverage companies aggressively target African American and Latino youth more than white youth.

One way that the beverage industry targets communities of colors is through events popular with specific groups or located in places near our communities. In this press release, we see an example through Pepsi's sponsorship of the NBA's Miami Heat, who hosted a day of basketball events for Latino youth.

McDonald's has offered half a million dollars to the Atlanta Women's Foundation, which serves women and girls in the Atlanta area. The money is to be used in part to "empower girls ... to make positive choices about education, careers and lifestyle." This corporate social responsibility campaign is designed in part to create long-term good feelings toward the company in the girls who will participate in these programs, who may then grow up to be Coca-Cola consumers.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest launched its first annual Food Day, and all across the country, communities and organizations mobilized to improve food policies. Hundreds of thousands of individuals organized more than 2,300 events in all 50 states.