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.
Source: PR Newswire on March 02, 2015
Pizza Hut is using National Reading Month to encourage literacy program alumni to encourage children to read through posting photos on social media with the hashtag #BOOKITkid for the chance to win a personal pan pizza. The company is using BOOK IT as a means to connect with children while showing corporate social responsibility.
Source: Ad Age on Feburary 27, 2015
In a holiday peg, PepsiCo, Oreo, and McDonald's are using Chinese New Year (also known as the Lunar New Year) to market their products to Chinese communities, both inside and outside of China.
Source: Huffington Post on Feburary 27, 2015
The sports drink company uses Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose walking through the south side of Chicago over a recitation of Tupac's "A Rose that Grew from Concrete" to reach African Americans. The commercial uses imagery and language familiar to African Americans in an attempt to seem appealing and accessible.
Source: Food Navigator on Feburary 20, 2015
The World Health Organization states that there is strong evidence linking targeted marketing to unhealthy diets in children. As such WHO has developed a nutrient profiling tool to help countries identify unhealthy foods based on saturated fat, trans fat, salt and added sugar, and restrict their marketing to children.
Source: Medical Daily on Feburary 19, 2015
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has encouraged Taylor Swift to withdraw from her sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. The center cites her influence on young people as well as the damaging effect Coca-Cola has on that demographic. Executive Director Michael Jacobson explains, "[Celebrities] shouldn't use their influence, especially their influence over children, to market junk food."
Source: Ad Week on Feburary 19, 2015
In a novel example of target marketing through language choices, Coca-Cola Puerto Rico is using emojis, the "second language" for young consumers, to "connect on a deeper level with our most important demographic."
Source: PR Newswire on Feburary 18, 2015
The Festival is a live entertainment event with musicians and comedians performing for around 550,000 attendees. Essence Communications Inc, a media company dedicated to African American women, hosts the festival. Coca-Cola's sponsorship gives the company an opportunity to expand their consumer base in the African American community.
Source: Mobile Marketer on Feburary 17, 2015
In a promotion targeting youth, any time fans create a beverage mix using the app, they can receive a code that allows them to enter a chance to win prizes including a trip to a Lady Antebellum concert.
Source: Ad Age on Feburary 14, 2015
The company believes millennials drink less black coffee than previous generations and are more interested in specialized coffee beverages like mochas or frozen blended coffees, a trend the company hopes to exploit. A food and beverage analyst explains, "Millennials are looking for ways to get coffee more easily and maybe not spend as much as they'd have to at, say, Starbucks or Dunkin'."
Source: Beverage Daily on Feburary 14, 2015
Dr Pepper is bringing its Mexican sparkling mineral water, Pe̱afiel, to the United States. The company believes the popularity of the drink in Mexico will connect with Latino consumers looking for the familiar.
