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: NYDailyNews.com on November 05, 2011
New York lawmakers and community residents are responding to a report from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity showing that soda manufacturers target African American and Latino youth. Activists call the targeting of low-income communities of color "environmental racism." The article quotes local lawmakers who want to regulate soda marketing before it can do more damage.Source: NYDailyNews.com on November 02, 2011
Nestle's Pure Life water comes from public water systems and is no better than tap water, but Latinos are spending hundreds of dollars per year on it. According to Corporate Accountability International, a watchdog group based in New York, that's because Nestle targets Latino immigrants, many of whom may not trust that tap water is safe to drink.Source: Illinois Statehouse News on November 02, 2011
Illinois public health advocates make the case for a 2-cents per ounce tax on sugary drinks, saying that the revenues generated will go toward obesity prevention programs. Critics claim that the proposal is not politically feasible, especially given the country's weak economy.Source: The New York Times on November 01, 2011
The government proposes changes in school meals in an attempt to reduce childhood obesity. The changes include reducing the amount of potatoes, adding more fresh fruits and vegetables, and reducing salt. Farm states and food companies are lobbying aggressively against the proposed rules.Source: The New York Times on November 01, 2011
Advice columnist and author Carol Weston points to the role of advertising in childhood overweight and obesity. She encourages switching from sugary sodas to tap water as a first step to improving health.Source: MediaPost on October 31, 2011
Sprite takes advantage of the popularity of "stepping" among black youth to increase its sales. The brand created a nationwide "Sprite Stepping" competition, which culminated in six nationally televised competitions on MTV and was hosted by rapper Ludacris. As a result, Sprite volume sales increased 6.7 percent over the year.Source: HealthCanal.com on October 31, 2011
The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity released a comprehensive study on sugary beverage marketing (sugarydrinkfacts.org). One of the key findings is that companies aggressively target black and Latino youth: Black children and teens saw 80 to 90 percent more ads compared to white youth; Latino children saw 49 percent more ads for sugary drinks and energy drinks on Spanish language TV; and Latino teens saw 99 percent more ads.Source: NPR on October 31, 2011
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.Source: PR Newswire on October 31, 2011
WAT-AAH! is a line of bottled water targeted at children, especially boys. The brand has launched a new campaign using bright neon colors, simple and direct messages with child-like hand-written sayings and claims to promote the positive benefits of drinking water.Source: NBA.com on October 28, 2011
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.
