In the world of the food industry, as I've said before,
everything comes back to money. Every product and advertising decision ever
made was made in the name of money. That’s why you shouldn't
be surprised when
companies aim their advertisements towards their biggest demographic or the
demographic that brings in the most money. In the world of the food industry,
however, this demographic happens to be children. 
As the
years go on children are starting to become one of the biggest targets for
companies to advertise to. Whether it is the way the boxes are designed, the
toys the company offers with their products or the cartoon characters that capture
their attention, advertisers are targeting the children in one way or another.
The reason being is that children as a general population have become a
powerhouse in consumer spending. Studies
show that the children population’s spending of their own money has increased
from $6 billion in the 1980’s to $136 billion in 2001. In a mere 20-something
years children spending has increased by more than 20 times. Over more than
half of this money was spent on sweets, soft drinks and fast food.
With
this much profit, it’s no wonder why the food industry has targeted young
children in their advertising. But does that make it right? Absolutely not.
Children are susceptible to a range of influences and can be manipulated into
liking whatever someone wants them to like. This is why parents need to start
getting their children familiar with healthy life choices and healthy brands at
a very young age. If the parents don’t take control, the food industry will.
Food companies market toward the youth of America because they are easily swayed by simple graphics on a cereal box or the cartoon that sits upon a food wrapper... Most of the food advertised towards children is usually unhealthy, therefore the responsibility falls onto the parents of these kids. If a parent wants their child to grow up knowing about proper eating habits, they need to stop buying the box of cocoa puffs or the bag of Cheetos!
ReplyDeleteYour post is very powerful and eye opening to the marking that takes place to kids. The photo you used is very shocking, but truthful.
ReplyDeleteFrom a business stand point, its a great target market because your building brand loyalty at an early age, but as a parent its troublesome and quite annoying to be honest. I can remember my kids crying, pointing and kicking for the golden arches before they could even read. Now that's effective marketing!!
ReplyDeleteThat sucks! I'm gonna do my best to be real firm about avoiding drive thrus. The playplace grabs their attention too
DeleteThis is definitely something I'll try to keep in mind as my daughter gets older.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy to know that children spend $136 billion on food alone. I think everyone can relate to that though because when I was younger, I thought it was so cool to have my own money. And of course the cheapest thing to buy was either candy or fast food.
ReplyDeleteThat last line really got to me. Thinking about the possibility of the food industry taking control of children's choices and ideas of what they "think" they want is scary. Advertising to such a vulnerable subject is unfair and upsetting from a parent's perspective; however, from a business and marketing standpoint is a very smart idea. I still think it is wrong though.
ReplyDeleteIt also amazes me that children in 2001 spent $136 billion on food. I can also remember having my own money that I wanted to spend on the first thing I saw. Like Anita says though from a business standpoint it is a very good idea to start advertising at a young age because of brand loyalty. But I do think that parents should monitor this type of stuff so these kids can know the difference between healthy and unhealthy.
ReplyDelete