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 New York Times on Feburary 11, 2013
Many industries, from food to alcohol to tobacco, have long targeted children with their products. In today's digital age, kids are targeted from more directions than ever, often without parents' awareness. Topping the list of products marketed to children are "fast foods, sugared cereals, sugary drinks and candy."Source: Advertising Age on Feburary 11, 2013
Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson plays "Corey, the One Black Guy in Every Commercial" in a bit that pokes fun at the token roles played by "cool and nonthreatening" people of color in food and beverage advertisements.Source: Warc on Feburary 07, 2013
Brands are attempting to market their products by responding in real time to world events or conversations on social media. Oreo, for example responded in real time to the Super Bowl blackout by posting an image on Twitter with the tagline: "You can still dunk in the dark."Source: FoodNavigator-usa.com on Feburary 05, 2013
Labels will only indicate the amount of calories, not fat or sugar. The voluntary action will allow the industry to claim that it's doing its part and, thereby, forestall criticism and regulation.Source: Warc on Feburary 04, 2013
The company is now using automated, real-time buying tools for over half of its digital advertising. Kellogg wants to use additional metrics beyond "click-throughs," looking also at "dwell-time" and "viewability" to show that its message has "broken through."Source: BuzzFeed on Feburary 03, 2013
It takes a "mission control" unit, or a few executives and a brand team. That's the kind of effort Oreo put into marketing its cookies when the Super Bowl blackout occurred. 1,000s of re-tweets of Oreo's ad amounted to "free" marketing. Of course, Oreo is just as trained on consumers year-round.Source: The New York Times on Feburary 02, 2013
A New York Times blogger offers suggestions for targeting Latino consumers. These include developing "personal relationships," and appealing to "both logical and emotional minds." The blogger also encourages marketers to keep in mind the diversity of the American Latino population, including country of origin and regional language variations.Source: AlterNet on Feburary 02, 2013
Coca-Cola and Pepsi reportedly pressured CBS to not air a Super Bowl ad from SodaStream. They were upset that the ad contained an implied criticism of the soda companies' use of plastic bottles and related harms to the environment.Source: redOrbit on Feburary 01, 2013
Researchers at UCLA found an association between the number of outdoor advertisements in a census tract and the number of residents that are overweight. The study focused on densely populated areas of Los Angeles and New Orleans. Study author Lenard Lesser argues that communities can take action to restrict outdoor advertising and that individuals can be active on town boards that make such decisions.Source: PR Newswire on January 31, 2013
The campaign is a tie-in with the Mexican National Men's Soccer team U.S. tour. Bud Light is presenting the Hispanic Scholarship Fund with a $20,000 check at each of the five exhibition games. Overall, Bud Light has donated $25 million to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
