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 October 24, 2011
In the face of much research pointing to the soda industry's role in fueling America's obesity epidemic, the American Beverage Association claims it is taking "extraordinary steps" to be part of the solution to childhood obesity and other issues.Source: Hispanic PR Blog on October 21, 2011
Kellog's surveys Latina moms about daily breakfast habits and perceptions. They find that Latina moms are 20 percent more likely than moms overall to get up earlier to prepare children's breakfast; and they perceive cereal as a "great snack to keep the body nourished throughout the day." Kellogg's will likely use this information to target their products to Latina mothers.Source: Hispanic PR Blog on October 21, 2011
In this piece, the Hispanic PR Blog discusses how different corporations like McDonald's, Nestle, Pepsi and Ford market online to the Latino audience. Marketing messages in Spanish is a common strategy for all of them. A critical perspective missing in this piece is the types of products marketed to Latinos, such as fatty and sugary foods and beverages.Source: MediaPost on October 20, 2011
The Cinnabon bakery chain is set to receive its first television exposure through a national campaign featuring International Delight Cinnabon-flavored coffee creamer.Source: The Atlantic on October 20, 2011
Professor emeritus Samira Kawash supports CSPI's class action suit against General Mills. She sees the complaint against fruit snacks as "just the beginning" of effective and necessary criticism of deceptive food labeling practices.Source: Food Politics on October 20, 2011
Marion Nestle supports the IOM's recently released report on Front of Package labeling. Though she says she believes that front of package labeling is "an inherently bad idea ... [because] FOP labels are a tool for selling," she considers the proposal a "huge improvement" over current food industry practices.Source: PR Newswire on October 19, 2011
The Baskin-Robbins culinary team will chose the top 20 finalists; then fans will vote online to determine the winning creation.Source: MediaPost on October 19, 2011
A recent study of different brands' "Facebook health" puts Coca-Cola at the top of the list: the brand has a base of 34 million fans, which is growing at a monthly rate of almost 3 percent.Source: Bloomberg News on October 19, 2011
Consumer groups such as The Center for Digital Democracy have filed a complaint with the FTC against PepsiCo, arguing that teen-targeted Doritos campaigns are deceptive.Source: Advertising Age on October 17, 2011
Written from a marketing perspective, this article discusses marketers' need to keep their messages consistent when targeting "fusionistas" -- a term used to describe young bicultural, bilingual millennials who identify both as 100 percent Latino and 100 percent American.
