Snickers to give 1,000 ice cream bars for best tweets
Source: Progressive Grocer on July 24, 2012
Snickers is seeking to draw on customers' creativity and spark user-generated content and social media buzz with the campaign.Marketing has a profound affect on the foods we eat and the beverages we drink, yet most of that marketing is for products we should avoid. BMSG monitors the media to help keep advocates informed of the tactics food and beverage companies use to target children, communities of color, and other groups that are particularly susceptible to the health harms these products cause. Below are archives of our monitoring.
McDonald’s initiative pays lip service to healthy eating
Source: PR Newswire on July 23, 2012
"Favorites Under 400 Calories," which provides nutrition info at the point of sale, is part of McDonald's Olympics marketing efforts. The list includes single items like Filet-o-Fish, fries, and apple pie. Since the chain also encourages combo meals and super-sizing, the calorie count of a meal is much higher.Kraft margeting kids’ foods to adults
Source: ChicagoBusiness.com on July 23, 2012
Kraft is tweaking and reformulating traditional "kid foods" to appeal to adult palates. This strategy capitalizes on adults' nostalgia. An industry analyst explains that "there are more adults in this country than children. You go where the numbers are."What would Batman eat? Cartoon characters and kids’ food choices
Source: Forbes on July 23, 2012
A new study finds that kids make healthier choices when asked what popular cartoon characters would eat. Connecting food choices with cartoon characters had a stronger effect than asking kids which foods were healthy, suggesting that kids' food choices are affected more by their emotional associations with food, rather than their level of knowledge about whether a food is healthy.Target remodeling 30 stores to add fresh-food items
Source: Chain Store Age on July 23, 2012
The 30 stores are spread out nationwide. More than 1,000 Target stores currently feature expanded food offerings, with approximately 10,000 sq ft. devoted to fresh foods in each store.Got Milk’s ‘Arranca Con Energia’ campaign promotes milk to Latino families
Source: PR Newswire on July 23, 2012
The campaign is partnering with local YMCA affiliates, sponsoring the cost of summer camp for Latino families, and donating milk and cereal.Companies must do more to guarantee children’s nutrition
Source: The Guardian on July 23, 2012
Leon Kaye of The Guardian argues that children have the right to safe and nutritious food. He notes that the nutrition programs of most large food companies are more about public relations than offering more nutritious choices for children. However, Kaye concludes that rather than regulate food marketing to children, "bureaucrats" should partner with industry, missing the fact that voluntary self-regulation, thus far, has not produced healthier products for kids.CSPI targets DreamWorks for Madagascar 3 character tie-ins with junk food
Source: FoodNavigator-usa.com on July 20, 2012
The Center for Science in the Public Interest called DreamWorks to task for tie-ins with packaged food companies like Snyder's-Lance, which have no nutritional standards for products marketed to children. CSPI urged DreamWorks to join the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a self-regulation program designed to encourage healthier eating among kids.Commentator ignores justice when considering Chick-Fil-A COO’s anti-gay stance
Source: MediaPost on July 20, 2012
This article by Karl Greenberg quotes industry voices reflecting on the admission by Chick-Fil-A COO Dan Cathy that he is "guilty as charged" on his anti-gay stance. Greenberg theorizes about the effects -- good and bad -- on sales, but doesn't consider that the discriminatory stance is unjust.Frito Lay: The days of traditional mass marketing are over
Source: Business Insider on July 20, 2012
A Frito Lay marketing executive says that the days of traditional mass marketing are over, and that customers want "brand experiences" across many platforms, including pop-up stores, social media, and mobile devices.