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: Advertising Age on May 21, 2013
Dairy Queen's latest ad campaign, which will involve social as well as traditional media, seeks to "reconnect emotionally" with customers and urge them to visit the chain for more than just dessert.Source: BeyondChron on May 21, 2013
Food and beverage marketers are increasingly turning to social media to target children and teens. Blogger Bettina Elias Siegel is fighting back with a YouTube video that she hopes will ultimately help make children aware of and resistant to industry marketing. Food advocate Dana Woldow urges readers to make use of social media to disseminate and discuss the video and other media designed to counter food industry marketing to children.Source: Hispanically Speaking News on May 21, 2013
The scholarships go to high school seniors in Southern California, through three separate programs for African-American, Latino, and Asian Pacific Islander students. The scholarships are partially funded through fundraising efforts by local franchises and are a way for McDonalds to target communities of color.Source: Consumers International on May 20, 2013
Consumers International is drawing attention to its call for an international ban on junk food marketing to kids by having "unemployed" icons like Ronald McDonald and Tony the Tiger hand out their CVs to delegates of the World Health Assembly.Source: PR Newswire on May 20, 2013
A marketing director for the company says that the app is part of the company's efforts to "find new and meaningful ways to enhance our relationships and brand equity within the Hispanic marketplace." Dunkin' Donuts launched an integrated Latino advertising and marketing campaign in 2012 with the tagline "Qu ests tomando?"Source: Orlando Sentinel on May 19, 2013
Though health advocates argue that menu labeling would steer patrons toward healthier choices, the government has not yet written out specific implementation instructions. The delay has come about because grocery stores are seeking an exemption on prepared foods -- an exemption opposed by restaurant and public health advocacy groups.Source: Scientific American on May 19, 2013
This tongue-in-cheek letter, written from the perspective of the food industry, assures consumers that the industry "[doesn't] necessarily want [them] to be unhealthy. It's just that it's so much more profitable to provide foods that happen to be unhealthy." Writer Patrick Mustain highlights how the industry profits from marketing unhealthy foods and exploiting consumer health concerns.Source: Nation's Restaurant News on May 18, 2013
Restaurateurs are increasingly concerned with offering children's meals that meet nutritional standards: At the National Restaurant Association's annual show, operators discussed success stories and offered suggestions for improving menu options.Source: Bloomberg on May 17, 2013
McDonald's has announced it will eliminate the Angus Burger, Fruit and Walnut salads, and other items from its ballooning menu, which currently has approximately 145 items. The increasing complexity of the menu has slowed down the speed of service.Source: Consumerist on May 17, 2013
In Brazil, customers can rent DVDs that are "cooked" in the DVD player while the movie plays -- the DVDs are made with a special ink that triggers the smell of pizza and turns the image on the disk into an image of a pizza.
