Children And The Fast Food Revolution
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Children And The Fast Food Revolution
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A staggering ten billion dollars a year is spent in the US on one type of advertising alone – fast food. These ads are for food that is high in fat, high in sugar, high in salt, low in nutrients – all the things that kids love.
The marketers know their audience – the children of America. They know exactly what appeals to children of all ages, and they know how to influence them. They also know that the children in turn influence their parents, and they know exactly how to play on that.
A normal child in the US in a normal family household will be exposed to a massive 40,000 advertisements a year – most of which will be for candies, cereals, toys and fast foods. One large fast food retailer in the US currently spends $600 million dollars a year on advertising, the vast majority of which is aimed at children – it’s not an understatement to say that advertising to children is mega-business.
But trying to stop kids watching television is a daunting and not a little scary task – especially as most of these kids have televisions in their bedrooms. The advertisers know this, and they know where their market is. Adverts for candies and junk foods appear more prominently on children’s TV channels – where they can have the most influence.
The children of today are the buyers of tomorrow. What they learn in their formative years can be very influential on their future lives – just as what they see advertised on television can influence what they spend their money on in the future. Because these children see the adverts and then pester their parents for the things that they see, this opens up a massive new market for the advertisers.
They even have a name for it – they call it Pester Power. Pester power comes in 2 forms:
- Persistence nagging
- Importance nagging
Persistence nagging is nagging by the child to the parent repeatedly. A child might see an advert for a particular fast food that he really wants and will constantly nag his parents until they give in. What is really effective in this way is when the advert is screened on a very regular basis – the child is constantly reminded of the product, and therefore so are the parents through he child.
Importance nagging is more of a long-term plan, and relies on the parents feeling guilty that they are not providing for their kids. It’s a powerful kind of influence as none of us like to be thought of as “bad” parents.
Many fast food “restaurants” also rely on gimmicks to advertise their products more effectively, like giving away toys or other gifts that appeal to children with their food.
Fast food advertising is not only a reserve of the television. The internet is a very cost effective way of advertising to children. Many websites offer “free” ringtones or other child-friendly incentives if the child visits their particular site. Social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace have also been known to be conduits to entice children toward the fast food revolution.
It’s almost impossible to stop your child being exposed to these commercials – if you try to do so you are battling against massive corporations with billions of dollars at their disposal. You just need to keep in mind that they do get enticed towards these products, and you are not a “bad” parent if you refuse to adhere to them yourself!
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