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 January 30, 2012
In a Feb. 9 McDonald's Flavor Battle competition, up-and-coming DJs will compete in front of iconic DJs and rappers to win the Flavor Battle Championship Title. The event, a relatively new component of the company's 365Black marketing initiative, will feature a great deal of McDonald's branding: Each DJ, for example, will represent a McDonald's burger.Source: Los Angeles Times on January 29, 2012
Florida's Republican State Senator Ronda Storms introduces a bill that would prohibit people from using food stamps to purchase "nonstaple, unhealthy foods."Source: Food Politics on January 27, 2012
A new study suggests that the red and green traffic light labels on foods help people make healthier choices. Marion Nestle urges the FDA to act.Source: Food Politics on January 26, 2012
Nestle praises Michelle Obama and Tom Vilsack's new nutrition standards for school meals. She also reviews some of the background leading up to the nutrition standards.Source: Los Angeles Times on January 25, 2012
The new standards are the first ever to include whole grains, place limits on sodium and trans fats, and double the amount of fruits and vegetables served to kids.Source: QSR Magazine on January 24, 2012
McDonald's launches a new Happy Meal in Philadelphia that will automatically include apple slices as a side to the choice of Chicken McNuggets, a Hamburger, or Cheeseburger, and choice of beverage. The new meal, which will also come with a smaller portion of fries, will be available nationwide in March 2012.Source: NACS Online on January 24, 2012
The American Beverage Association attempts to discredit recent obesity ad campaigns by describing them as "stomach turning" and "misleading propaganda".Source: Berkeley Media Studies Group on January 24, 2012
Food marketing researcher Andrew Cheyne highlights the similarities in personal responsibility rhetoric in Food Network's Paula Deen's Type 2 diabetes controversy and tobacco products. Both share the "everybody knows it's bad for you" argument.Source: Ragan.com on January 23, 2012
To capitalize its social network channels on Facebook, Hershey Co. focuses on awareness, content, and agility.Source: Food Politics on January 23, 2012
Nutrition expert Marion Nestle rounds up the news on beverage marketing including: soda companies vs. civic public health campaigns; Sonic's marketing campaign; and Dr Pepper's Snapple campaigns.
