The fast food industry spent $4.6 billion to advertise mostly unhealthy products, and children and teens remained key audiences for that advertising, according to a new report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The food industry has developed different marketing tactics to target children and teens. They are able to advertise through the use of TV, the Internet, social media, and mobile devices. I wanted to address how online advertisements affects teens and children throughout the use of social media. Many companies today communicate and interact with their customers throughout the use of social media, the fast-food industry is no different. Many teens today spend most of their time online, where they are exposed to many types …show more content…
Those ethnic groups that are affected more by the fast food industry are Hispanic and African- American youth. Harris, a social phycologist from Yale University argues that “much of this marketing is targeted to black and Latino youth, who suffer disproportionately from obesity and diet-related diseases” (Harris). With additional research I was able to find out that some fast food restaurants have websites in a certain language in other to appeal more to a certain ethnicity. For example, McDonalds has a website called 365Black.com where it advertises exclusive content for African-American youth. McDonalds also has a website called MeEncanta.com where it also advertises exclusive content for Latin youth. This shows how the fast food is able to expand its resources throughout the internet in order to appeal to specific ethnicities if needed. This is why the fast-food industry needs to be stopped and prevent children and teens from failing into the hands of them before its too …show more content…
Well, you may do so but as I mentioned before, the Internet has become an intrinsic part of a teen 's daily life, its it certainly impossible to effectively restrict their internet use. Let’s say you are successful in restricting their internet usage, what makes you certain that teens won’t be targeted by another form. Regardless of what you try, it is impossible to prevent teens, children or anyone from advertising; ads are simply everywhere. They may see ads throughout TV, magazines, apps, radio, school, billboards, buses, books, and so on; They are simple
Obesity in the United States, which the media has labeled a national crisis, has also been connected to poverty rates. Big fast food industry’s target poor communities, and spend millions of dollars each year to create advertising that appeals to these specific areas. These industry’s also target naïve children when advertising because they know that eating habits developed in childhood are usually carried into adulthood. Children who are exposed to television advertisements for unhealthy food and who are not educated well enough on good nutrition will grow up and feed their families the same unhealthy foods they ate as kids. A big way fast food giants are able to make certain young people have access to unhealthy food is by strategically placing franchises in close proximity to schools. They will often place three times as many outlets within walking distance of schools than in areas where there are no schools nearby. The way fast food advertising is targeted towards children is very alarming considering how important good nutrition is for young people and how a child’s eating habits can affect their growth and
The fast food industry is one of the largest sectors of the United States economy. Companies such as Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, McDonalds and KFC have all become household names. Each of these companies operates under a similar mission statement: to serve a quick, filling meal for a very low cost. The primary marketing medium for these companies is television where via commercials, they can portray both their products and a lifestyle. Their intense advertising focus on minorities and children, however, has begun to exacerbate the epidemic of obesity that is sweeping our nation. Fast food's televised advertising is a significant contributor to obesity in today's minority youth. By promoting unhealthy tendencies and high-calorie foods as well as an attitude that promotes tolerance of diseases such as obesity, these companies are influencing people to such a degree that it is negatively affecting their health. This dangerous marketing method is not only sweeping America, but other countries as well. The emphasis on fast food companies' immoral marketing raises the question: Are people eating for hunger or because of an advertised, influenced habit? However, we must also address whether or not fast food companies are mainly responsible, or if the blame also covers their consumers.
The rising frequency of teen Internet and social media use, in particular Facebook, has cause parents to lose sight of these websites harmful attributes that lead to eating disorders and extreme dieting. Michele Foster, author of “Internet Marketing Through Facebook: Influencing Body Image in Teens and Young Adults”, published October 2008 in Self Help Magazine, argues Facebook has become the leading social network for teens and young adults aging 17 to 25 years of age, and is also the age range that has significant increases in Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa in women. Foster accomplishes her purpose, which is to draw the parents of teen’s attention to the loosely regulated advertisements on Facebook and Facebook’s reluctance to ban negative body image ads. Foster creates a logos appeal by using examples and persona, pathos appeal by using diction, and ethos appeal by using examples and persona.
Based on the study from Chicago-based Research International USA found that more than half of the population eats fast food once a week and with a 20 percent eating fast food at least every other day. Most being males below middle age. Also more than half of the guests were with family members, 29 percent of these guests are with children under the age of 18. Fast foods chains are targeting kids and young adults by utilizing cartoon characters and celebrities to influence them into their products. They also build playgrounds in their restaurant to help draw kids into business and also provide toys with cartoon characters they can relate. Some chains have website which are geared for kids and allow them to play games and interact with their products. These tactics are to entice kids into their restaurants which are a contributing factor with higher rate of guests that are under 18.
Any agency that uses children for marketing schemes spend hundreds of billions dollars each year world wide persuading and manipulating consumer’s lifestyles that lead to overindulgence and squandering. Three articles uncover a social problem that advertising companies need to report about. In his research piece “Kid Kustomers” Eric Schlosser considers the reasons for the number of parents that allow their children to consume such harmful foods such as ‘McDonalds’. McDonalds is food that is meant to be fast and not meant to be a regular diet. Advertising exploits children’s needs for the wealth of their enterprise, creating false solutions, covering facts about their food and deceiving children’s insecurities. It contains dissatisfaction that leads to over consumption. Children are particularly vulnerable to this sort of manipulation, American Psychological Association article, “Youth Oriented Advertising” reveals the facts upon the statics on consumers in the food industries. The relationship that encourages young children to adapt towards food marketing schemes, make them more vulnerable to other schemes, such as, advertising towards clothing, toys and cars. Article writer of “The relationship between cartoon trade character recognition and attitude toward product category in young children”, Richard Mizerski, discusses a sample that was given to children ages three to six years old, about how advertising incurs young children that are attracted too certain objects or products on the market.
Commercials make the viewer think about the product being advertised. Because of the amount of television children watch throughout the week, it allows the children to be exposed to the information over and over again. Per year, children are known to view thousands of fast food commercials. On a daily basis, a teen will usually view five advertisements and a child aged six to eleven will see around four advertisements (Burger Battles 4). Businesses use this strategy to “speak directly to children” (Ruskin 3). Although the big businesses in the fast ...
In recent years, companies have discovered that they can reach kids most effectively using social media. Kids will like, share, and retweet things, therefore sharing it with all of their friends who then go on to share it with their friends and so on. Due to social media news can now really spread like wildfire. It seems that companies have turned to children to do most of the dirty work for them when it comes to advertising. Some kids have figured it out and are using it to their advantage, while others naively continue to work for free.
Teens are an easy reach for advertisers. “Teens are jaded, bombarded by tons of advertising messages”(Winsor 1). There are advertisements at movie theaters, on television, and in teen magazines. Advertisers also reach teens through social media such as the internet and websites. Teens are constantly on Facebook and YouTube, whi...
Fast food advertising is a billion dollar industry. Advertisers use such gimmicks as celebrities, and cartoon characters. Many fast food chains have their own cute character to represent them. These characters draw the attention of the young preschoolers, tweens and teens. The celebrity athlete or current pop musicians are used to advertise fast food and again draws in the tweens, teens and 20 something adults. There are the ads that say to you, “Mom needs a break tonight”, “tell her you want (any fast food restaurant name) for dinner tonight.” There are the ads that show beautiful, thin women eating fast food usually with the look of satisfaction on their faces. Lastly let’s not leave out the, handsome man with no shirt on; great abs, drinking a coke cola in one hand and on the tailgate of his pick up sits a large order of fries and a double cheeseburger. Fast food advertising focuses on all ages of consumers.
each block. But how are they able to open as many stores as this? The
Across America in homes, schools, and businesses, sits advertisers' mass marketing tool, the television, usurping freedoms from children and their parents and changing American culture. Virtually an entire nation has surrendered itself wholesale to a medium for selling. Advertisers, within the constraints of the law, use their thirty-second commercials to target America's youth to be the decision-makers, convincing their parents to buy the advertised toys, foods, drinks, clothes, and other products. Inherent in this targeting, especially of the very young, are the advertisers; fostering the youth's loyalty to brands, creating among the children a loss of individuality and self-sufficiency, denying them the ability to explore and create but instead often encouraging poor health habits. The children demanding advertiser's products are influencing economic hardships in many families today. These children, targeted by advertisers, are so vulnerable to trickery, are so mentally and emotionally unable to understand reality because they lack the cognitive reasoning skills needed to be skeptical of advertisements. Children spend thousands of hours captivated by various advertising tactics and do not understand their subtleties.
Competition Among Fast Food Chains MARKETING INFORMATION NEEDED FOR THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY. To begin with, for the fast food industry around the world, the leading fast food chains marketing information is wrapped around convenience location, changing preferences, quality of food, pricing of fast food, potential customers, age of the customers, menu selection and diversification and last of all superior service. From a marketing perspective, location for the fast food service to the potential customers is most important, according to Maritz Marketing Research. A recent study showed the location has to be convenient. The analysis said that adults under the age of 65 prefer a convenient location for their fast food.
In large establishments the duties of the head chef or person in charge are mainly administrative, only in smaller establishments would it be necessary for the headchef to be engaged in the handling of food. However although the production kitchen could be considered a small establishment, for the purpose of learning, the headchef is only involved in administrative duties to experience how the role would be performed in a larger commercial kitchen. Normally the headchef in a restaurant is concerned with duties such as organising the kitchen, engaging the staff, supervising the kitchen and be responsible for the stillroom, washing up of crockery and be responsible for the stores. In the long term purchase of equipment would also be duty of the headchef. This differs slightly in the training kitchen where most emphasis is put on the headchefs ability to engage, supervise and delegate to their peers. The lecturer usually compiles the menu in advance, however the headchef is responsible for allocating the class or staff to different sections of the kitchen.
The fast food industry has caused irrevocable changes to the American culture, workforce, and economy. The days of families eating dinner together as a unit have dwindled, with faster meal options being the answer for most. Corporations like McDonald’s have contributed to many of America’s new jobs and continue to do so. The faster and cheaper production of food has caused a rift in the American economy by forcing farmers to adapt to the new way of food production. That way, the larger corporations became the economic giants.
Worcester Polytechnic Institution. "Fast Food Marketing to Children." Public Health Communication. (2007). http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-082107-231740/unrestricted/Appendix_1.pdf (accessed February 17, 2014).