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: Bloomberg on October 14, 2012
A food industry consultant said: "South America is really going to be where the growth is" for American franchise restaurants. Despite (or because of) free-market policies, Peruvian businesses can't get a foothold. The Peruvian Gastronomy Assn. is trying to counter the foreign influence.Source: Bluefield Daily Telegraph on October 12, 2012
The logo update is part of a larger effort to make Wendy's seem higher-end (insomuch as fast food chains can be) -- along the lines of a Panera Bread Co. or Chipotle. Other changes include better-tailored employee uniforms and natural lighting. The food remains the same.Source: Food Politics on October 12, 2012
Featured products included gluten-free Frito-Lay potato chips, Domino sugar-stevia blend, and "a guide to moderate candy consumption" put out by the National Confectioners Assn. The exhibition is an opportunity for the food industry to influence dieticians and the advice they give clients.Source: FoodNavigator-usa.com on October 12, 2012
LifeAID calls its concoction a "synergy beverage," which is somewhere between an energy drink and a run-of-the-mill soft drink. It's full of the usual added vitamins, amino acids and sugar (in the form of agave syrup) and includes versions aimed at golfers, "cross-fit enthusiasts" and hung-over partygoers.Source: Advertising Age on October 11, 2012
Coke is in discussions to invest $10 million in Spotify, a music-streaming service, as a way of better attracting young people. A Spotify executive referenced the irony of a comparison between Coke and the global water supply: "We want music to be like Coke, which really is everywhere [as opposed to water]."Source: MediaPost on October 11, 2012
The fast food company is deflecting attention from its unhealthy products by touting its relatively insignificant efforts to include healthy messages and menu items in kid-centered advertising. As usual, McDonald's is hiding behind "consumer choice" rhetoric to avoid corporate accountability.Source: MediaPost on October 11, 2012
In an online video posted on the brand's Facebook page, the rapper turns his hit song "Drop It Like It's Hot" into "Pocket Like It's Hot." Snoop Dogg really has his endorsement lines memorized: "Hot Pockets are irresistibly hot; [they] have always been a favorite in my house."Source: Advertising Age on October 11, 2012
Burger King is shopping for an agency to create a new campaign to project a unified message about the brand. The success of the now-dated "Have it Your Way" campaign illustrates the power of marketing based on the illusion of individuality and choice.Source: Progressive Grocer on October 10, 2012
"The Combos Files" is the brand's latest marketing attempt. Consumers submit suggestions for new flavor combinations, and a celebrity chef tests them out in the company of other celebrities, including athletes (who probably never eat the processed, salt-laden nuggets).Source: FoodNavigator-usa.com on October 10, 2012
Speaking at the recent Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, executives from the processed food giants said avoiding their products is unrealistic and unhelpful. They went on to tout their product reformulations.
