Children:
Children are exposed to fast food marketing
techniques through various forms of advertisements such as TV, the Internet,
mobile phones, billboards and many others. Successful fast food companies target
children with fun messages such as kid’s meal promotions and popular toy action
figures. They use positive words such as “fun” and “cool.” Fast food companies
often link these words with well known cartoons. On the Internet, kids can play
in virtual games provided on the fast food chain website. The
child-targeted
sites are visited just as often as their own webpage. They promote the brand
instead of showing their food. If they show food on their page, the company
website displays their healthier menu items. McDonalds, Burger King and Subway
are the top 3 fast food companies who target children directly.
Children are attracted to the restaurant with advertisements
that appeal to them. The number one restaurant children prefer to go to is
McDonalds. When they arrive at McDonalds, they prefer to consume the
unhealthier options such as soft drinks and fries. It is estimated that on
average, preschoolers watch 3 daily ads pertaining to fast food. In 2006, Better
Business Bureau created a policy program that prohibits companies to advertise
unhealthy foods to youth less than 12 years old. Some companies have
implemented this into their company policies. Others have modified this policy
to define their own “better for you” standards. In 2014, companies will
implement nutritional standards in their policy.
Teens:
When the fast food companies target teens,
companies promote celebrities and implement humoristic marketing strategies in
their advertisements. Being exposed to fast food marketing is a part of their
life through billboards, school scoreboards, vending machines, and grocery store
shelves. The snack items are commonly promoted towards teens. Sonic and Subway
are examples of fast food companies whose ads target teens by promoting their
lunch/dinner items. Teens get exposed trough their phones, word of mouth,
social media and are exposed to product placement through video games, TV shows,
and movies. The average teen watched about 5 fast food ads each day.
When measuring the effectiveness of the
advertisement, teenagers purchase high-caloric menu items that contain no
nutritional value. According to fastfoodmarketing.org only 5% choose the
healthier options at fast food restaurants. Teens purchase more snack items
than any other age group. 75% of the teens order the larger sized hamburgers
and 25% order large or extra large soft drinks and fries.
Why do you think so many fast food restaurants, especially McDonalds, promote so heavily on children when they know it is severely unhealthy for not only their health but their future as well?
ReplyDeleteThat is a good question. The reason why they promote so heavily on children is because children are very persuasive so they get the parents to take them or the whole family if they have siblings. McDonalds create brand loyalty with their websites and offering happy meals that directly targets children.
ReplyDeleteThe negative side of eating there is the unhealthy food children consume. I don't think fast food restaurants focus enough on this aspect. They offer healthy food, but it is not a popular choice among children. The children don't know how much the food affects them and are not old enough to realize it. The fast food industry needs to change and parents need to be stronger and say no more often. There are many other good healthy choices that should be picked instead.