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: The Huffington Post on June 05, 2013
Ruffles' "addictive" new hybrid snack is being marketed to solve the "timeless struggle, the eternal choice" between choosing potato chips or French fries. The product is set for an early summer launch, possibly to drive Fourth of July sales.Source: Irish Examiner on June 05, 2013
The new regulation, effective this fall, will prevent food and beverage marketers from advertising products high in salt, fat and sugar during kids' shows. Food manufacturers have pushed back against the ban, questioning the nutrition criteria used to determine what items will be restricted.Source: Food Politics on June 05, 2013
Marion Nestle critiques the rollout of Coca-Cola's "Little Machines," in which residents of Lahore, Pakistan, and New Delhi, India, have to cooperate via video with one another to get their Coke. She argues the machines are little more than a sales gimmick to boost Coke revenue internationally: "Americans aren't buying it so much anymore, so overseas it goes."Source: Food Dive on June 04, 2013
In response to consumers' waning interest in soda, the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo are shifting their marketing energy to their juice brands. The juice market is projected to exceed $21 billion by 2017, fueled in part by the introduction of low-calorie options and ongoing efforts by marketers to target multicultural families and health conscious consumers of all ages.Source: CNet on June 04, 2013
Pepsi's Like Machine, an interactive social-media vending machine, allows users to trade a "like" on the Pepsi Facebook page for a free can of soda. The machine allows Pepsi to collect data on exactly who "liked" and tried the drink, making the invention "an advertiser's dream."Source: Food Politics on May 31, 2013
Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health professor at NYU, reveals the context behind Coca-Cola's pledge to help beat obesity: "Food companies have gotten great press from announcing changes to their products without doing anything, and every promise helps stave off regulation."Source: ColorLines on May 31, 2013
ColorLines blogger Jorge Rivas discusses a recent Cheerios commercial featuring an interracial couple and their daughter, which garnered an overwhelmingly negative response and led to Cheerios closing the comments section on the video's YouTube posting. Rivas said advertisers often fail to accurately reflect cultural norms for fear of such backlash.Source: Progressive Grocer on May 30, 2013
Top food and beverage companies have reduced their calories in the U.S. marketplace by over 1.5 trillion, according to a progress report funded by food and beverage industry partners. Although the report focuses on calorie counts, it gives little indication of how nutritious the products are. An independent review of the findings will be completed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation this fall.Source: Warc on May 30, 2013
The Los Angeles City Council is considering a ban on alcohol advertising on city property, which would substantially reduce the number of billboards available to alcohol advertisers. Regulations are also being tightened or reexamined in the UK, Turkey, Cambodia, and Russia.Source: AlterNet on May 30, 2013
Public health attorney Michele Simon describes the discussion at McDonald's annual shareholder meeting, where activists, including 9-year-old Hannah Robertson, confronted the fast food giant for exploiting children and communities of color. Simon recaps CEO Don Thompson's most outrageous and flimsy defenses of the company and rebuts each of his claims.
