Recently, it has been noticed that a number of professional athletes are sponsoring junk food in commercials; LeBron James for McDonald’s, Peyton Manning for Pepsi, and Sidney Crosby for Tim Hortons. The global movement towards better public health has put companies and their marketing strategies under scrutiny. In this case, children who look up to these athletes will face mixed signals as their role models consume “junk food”. These athletes are in a position to boost awareness of health but are instead promoting the very companies responsible for some of the public’s health issues.

Lebron James for McDonalds; Beyoncé for Pepsi-Cola

Looking at this from the company’s point of view, sponsorship from the world’s most popular athletes will be helping their balance sheets. The athletes themselves are also in this for the same reason, but this brings up a question of ethics; why promote something you do not eat yourself and know will not the help the very children that come out to your games? Dr. David Silver had spoken with our class about the disregard for ethics in modern business. The companies are evaluating profit margins and positioning their brand incorrectly at a point in time where living the “healthy life” is trending worldwide.

The article used in this post can be found at: 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/athletes-in-junk-food-ads-send-kids-mixed-messages-1.1913330

Photo can be found at:

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/ht_lebron_mcdonalds_beyonce_pepsi_nt_121211_wg.jpg