In the 21st century, eating fast food has become a weekly routine for many families with children, even going as far as becoming a staple in the family’s diet. And when children think of eating out, usually one of the first images that come to mind is McDonalds. According to TIME, 40% of parents reported that their child asked to go to McDonald’s at least once a week, and 85% of parents reported that they bring their 2-to-11 year-olds to a fast food restaurant within the previous week1. McDonalds have become a huge part of children’s diets and childhood experiences and while the world’s number one leading fast food chain is growing substantially and earning ever-increasing profits by reaching to the children through direct marketing channels, is it ethical for them to direct their marketing activities of the proven unhealthy and processed food towards such vulnerable children?
The marketing campaigns that are generated towards children are highly deceptive, as children have not developed the cognitive ability to judge from right and wrong, real or fiction. Instead, they absorb what they see as facts (the numerous advertisements on television and online). The Happy Meals that features a toy capture’s the child’s attention and result in having the child nag their parents until they are able to go to the nearest McDonalds to collect each and every piece of toy that is in the Happy Meal collection as is the case with a mother of two from Sacramento. According to the mother, “the main reason her six-year-old daughter asks to go to McDonald’s is to get toys based on Barbie, i-Carly, Shrek, or Strawberry Shortcake. The food seems almost beside the point to the kids”2. The following commercial clearly focuses on advertising the toys instead of the food. In fact, the food does not even appear to be in the advertisement.
By using such deceptive practices to entice children to buy Happy Meals, the renowned corporation may be one of the causes for such unhealthy standards of living that have risen during the past 5 years3. The CCFC campaign’s mission is to “raise healthy families by limiting commercial access to children and ending the exploitive practice of child-targeting marketing”4 and I fully support the campaign to cease marketing efforts directed at children.
Sources:
2 http://www.cspinet.org/new/201012151.html
3 http://www.childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/statistics
4 http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/about-ccfc