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: MediaPost on Feburary 15, 2012
Industry writer Thom Forbes analyzes the latest advertising campaign from burger chain Carl's Jr., which features popular swimsuit model Kate Upton. The "cheesecake"-heavy ad targets the "young, hungry guys" who are the chain's primary customers.
Source: The New York Times on Feburary 15, 2012
Coca-Cola has unveiled the first glimpses of its advertising campaign for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The campaign, titled "Move to the beat," uses music to "reach a generation of teens and young adults."
Source: Restaurant Management Magazine on Feburary 14, 2012
Denny's launches the "Skillet Whisperer" video featuring famed dog behavioralist, Cesar Millan. The video is available in both Spanish and English and shows Millan "taming an unruly Denny's Sizzlin' Skillet." A marketing consultant describes the partnership with Cesar Millan as a promotional strategy to reach Latinos.
Source: QSR Magazine on Feburary 13, 2012
Survey results were released just in time for Valentine's Day. To capitalize on the findings, the chain has launched a "CupiDD's Choice" Twitter sweepstakes that offers consumers a chance to win Dunkin' Donuts gift cards.Source: FastCasual.com on Feburary 13, 2012
More than 20 restaurant brands recently joined "Kids LiveWell," a voluntary program developed by the National Restaurant Association to "[provide] parents with a growing selection of healthful children's menu choices when dining out." Forty different restaurants now participate in the program, offering menu items that comply with recommendations based on the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines.Source: PR Newswire on Feburary 10, 2012
The 2012 McDonald's Flavor Battle DJ competition crowned San Francisco-based DJ Risk One as the 2012 Flavor Battle Champion. The Flavor Battle began in 2009 as an extension of McDonald's 365Black campaign, tailored for marketing to African-Americans. During the finale, each of the three DJ finalists represented a McDonald's burger and competed in a "battle of burgers and beats" to win the grand prize of $10,000.Source: MediaPost on Feburary 10, 2012
Arby's has announced plans to overhaul its marketing in 2012. The relaunch will include a new menu and a new approach to advertising campaigns.
Source: Marketing Magazine on Feburary 09, 2012
As part of an effort to limit online marketing of junk food to children, the Children's Food Campaign, a British health advocacy group, has filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority.Source: Fresh Plaza on Feburary 09, 2012
Former Coca-Cola executive Jeff Dunn is the force behind a marketing campaign for baby carrots that urges children to "eat 'em like junk food."Source: Food Politics on Feburary 09, 2012
Marion Nestle counters the food industry's argument that the First Amendment gives them the right to market junk food to children. She presents several articles written by scholars and public interest lawyers who are examining current food marketing practices through the lens of First Amendment rights. Among them is research showing that marketing to kids is inherently misleading, and thus not a protected form of commercial speech.
