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Food Marketing Practices

 

 

 

Best Food Marketing Practices:

	New Dairy Industry Ad Supports the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” Program	February 2010
	In support of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” Program, the dairy industry has released a new ad that presents fat-free milk as part of the solution to fight childhood obesity and encourages the consumption of water and skim milk instead of soda and sugar-sweetened beverages. Unlike other recent efforts by the dairy industry that pushed chocolate milk consumption, this ad focuses solely on increasing consumption of fat-free milk in addition to getting 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

	Hidden Valley Ranch Promotes Vegetables Through Web Series	December 2009
	Hidden Valley Ranch is sponsoring a new Web series by NBC Universal Digital Studio called “Garden Party” which is meant to help families build healthy eating habits and incorporate vegetables into their diet. The series, hosted by actress Jennie Garth, will feature a veggie-of-the-month with recipes, videos on iVillage, and tips to help kids love veggies.

	KFC “Penny Per Calorie” Campaign Promotes Low-Cal Meal	December 2009
	KFC’s new campaign promotes a 395-calorie meal of grilled chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes with gravy for $3.95. This campaign encourages the consumption of a low-calorie meal amidst a sea of fast food marketing for high-calorie foods and meal combos.

Worst Food Marketing Practices:

	Burger King Targets Girls and Boys with Pinkalicious & NASCAR Promotions	March 2010
	In an effort to target girls, Burger King has launched a promotion with Pinkalicious, the widely popular children's book character who girls view as their friend. BK is deplorably using this princess who “can’t stop eating pink cupcakes” to sell their brand, sending the entirely wrong message about healthy eating. BK has also teamed up with NASCAR and Tony Stewart, a race car popular driver, to target boys who admire him. Both promotions include toys, posters, and interactive online content and games at BK’s children’s website, ClubBK.com.

	Taco Bell Touts New Drive-Thru Diet	January 2010
	Taco Bell’s new advertising campaign introduced the “Drive-Thru Diet” to promote its Fresco menu. Its spokesperson, Christine, testifies to have lost 54 pounds eating from the Fresco menu. Taco Bell claims it is not a weight-loss program and that the results are not typical, but the name and infomercial misleadingly suggests otherwise. While the Fresco menu items do contain fewer calories than other Taco Bell items, some also contain approximately a days worth of sodium, which certainly does not contribute to a “better” diet.

	KFC Pays Cities to Brand Fire Hydrants	January 2010
	KFC is giving $7,500 to two Indiana cities to pay for new fire hydrants and extinguishers in exchange for advertising Colonel Sander’s face on them. KFC said it wants to improve the cities’ fire safety, but its primary concern undoubtedly is to promote their new “fiery” wings. This gaudy marketing effort is a public nuisance that takes advantage of the economic struggles of Indiana’s cities.