Fast Food Ads Directed at Children
Advertisements are omnipresent in
peoples’ lives from decades, but changes in this area that performed in the
twentieth century had created completely new target of their efforts –
children. Eric Schlosser in his bestseller Fast
Food Nation describes how fast
food restaurants collect information about children’s preferences and use them
to sell their products to these vulnerable consumers. Children’s brains are
flooded by fast food ads such as McDonald’s or KFC from the early morning to
late-night hours every day. This constant presence of advertisements cannot
stay without the impact on kids’ preferences, and their behavior. Food industry
devotes
a
lot of time and money to
create ads directed at children who will nag their parents to buy them
advertised products. I
agree with Eric Schlosser that fast food chains achieve most of their profits
thanks to directing their advertisements at children.
After the World War II demographic
growth
of population occurred
in America which caused that entrepreneurs began perceiving children as
potential consumers of their products. To this change contributed also fact
that post-war economic situation forced many, so far stay home parents, to
undertake at least part-time job. Food industry used that “Many working
parents, feeling guilty about spending less time with their kids, started spending
more and more money on them” (Schlosser 42). In this approach, food industry
noticed an opportunity to make more money. The pioneers of directing
advertisements to young generation such as Ray Kroc and Walt Disney took
advantage of parents’ difficult position and children’s innocence to create
their financial success. Children are the social group that is very easily
manipulated which food corporations employ creating their ads. The studies show
that children begin their “brand loyalty” (Schlosser 43) at early childhood
which means food companies gain their consumers by bombarding little children
with ads of their products. They use catchy melodies, funny and colorful characters, and toys to “evoke a series
of pleasing images in a youngster’s mind” (Schlosser 42) connected with their
brands. Moreover, food companies use children’s gullibility and lack of
understanding the intent of ads. Young children comprehend TV commercials as
entertainment and good fun, but they do not realize that ads impact on their
subconscious and their future behaviors as consumers. But advertisers do not
limit their actions only to toddlers, so they attract children in any age by
adding toys to specific meals. These marketing methods lure young generation,
and they give these young people a reason to nag their parents to buy them
advertised products. The
companies generate significant revenues not only
from children’s purchases but also from their parents’ choices. For example,
when my nice drag me to McDonald’s to get her Happy Meal with the toy from the
recently produced animated
film I do not stay and look while she is eating, but I buy for myself some
shake or McFlurry with Oreo Cookies. I am not a fun of McDonald’s but when I am
there I cannot resist the temptation. A few decades ago Ray Kroc was right when
he sad that “a child who loves our TV commercials” (Schlosser 41) will bring
another customer with him/her.
Nowadays, advertisements are present
almost everywhere we look and huge amount of them is directed at adolescence. Advertisers
compete with each other in inventing new ways of attracting young customers. They use Internet and TV commercial to manipulate children’s
minds, and to take advantage of their erroneous understanding of the ads intentions. All efforts that food companies make are aimed at creating desired behaviors among children.
They create positive, full of childhood fantasies images
that awake in children a desire of being part of this entertainment. Kids nag
their parents in a very effective way to get what the ads suggest is the best
for them, and this generate enormous revenues for fast food companies.
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