Advertising Is Good For You

Relax. Ronald McDonald does not have a hold on children's minds.

According to a study conducted by Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, children prefer food wrapped in McDonald's packaging over unbranded food.

Some have taken this study to mean that McDonald's has turned children into fast food fiends. Let's not get carried away.

All the study means is that kids prefer branded food to unbranded food. Just as you do.

Don't you assume the quality of a banana with a Dole label is likely better than that of a banana with no label? 

Don't you think the no-name brand of cola at the supermarket doesn't taste as good as Coca-Cola?

Don't you wonder just a little bit if the generic drug your health insurance covers is as good as the name-brand that's not covered by your plan?

I've been in advertising and marketing for more than 20 years and even I believe that most branded products are better than those that aren't.

So, as far as this study on kids is concerned, it pretty much just means that kids pick up on our buying behavior at an early age. Which is really not that scary at all.

Image: tankgrrl

All those people who think advertising is an exact science being used to brainwash innocent citizens and erode civilization as we know it, listen up.

From Yes But No But Yes:

Viewing figures for Aqua Teen Hunger Force the week BEFORE the Boston "hoax device" incident: 380,000

Viewing figures for Aqua Teen Hunger Force the week AFTER the Boston "hoax device" incident: 380,000.

Yet Another Cheap Shot at Advertising and Marketing

An Illinois lawmaker is getting lots of press for her plans to introduce legislation that would make the alcohol industry stop marketing to kids. Funny thing is, there's no evidence whatsoever that the alcohol industry actually is targeting underage drinkers.

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A 2003 report from the Federal Trade Commission, based on its investigation of alcohol ads, product placement, and even internal company marketing documents, concluded underage consumers were not being targeted by by alcohol advertising and marketing.

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State Senator Carol Ronen, a Democrat, is targeting makers of what she refers to as 'alcopops' i.e. Bacardi Silver, Smirnoff Ice, Captain Morgan Gold and Mike's Hard Lemonade, and other sweet alcoholic beverages that appeal to those wanting to enjoy the effects of alcohol without the taste -- a market segment that is hardly limited to teens.

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So-called alcopops account for less than 1% of total alcohol beverage sales in the U.S.

In addition, sales of alcopops have decreased 21% between 2002 through 2006.

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The lack of evidence against advertising and marketing doesn't appear to be stopping Senator Ronen from moving forward with her plans to keep her name in the papers. 

Source: Chicago Tribune

 

Psssst. AARP types love their Macs. But don't tell anybody.

5 Blogs Before Lunch refers to a report that nearly half of Mac owners are 55 and older. Which doesn't surprise me that much. Baby Boomers have much more disposable income than the 18 to 25 group everybody is hot for, so why shouldn't they treat themselves to the more expensive (and infinitely easier to use, we Mac users would say) computer system?

I'm also not surprised that an Apple spokesperson argued that only 20% of Mac owners are 55 and older. Heaven forbid Mac -- or any brand, for that matter -- be considered the geezer brand.

How old is the average video gamer? Forty-one!

Photo: South Park Studios
Source: Center for Media Research

I'm Getting Really Ticked Off

This is my second post in two days on the supposed evils of advertising.

Speaking at the Kaiser Family Foundation the other day, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton made a flippant remark about how advertisers will soon be “implanting chips in our children to advertise directly into their brains and tell them what kind of products to buy.”

Now the Kaiser Family Foundation has released a study regarding online advertising to children.

"Children who visit these sites are being exposed to a diverse and extensive array of brand-related information, far beyond anything they would see in a 30-second TV ad. They are also being recruited as marketers themselves, promoting branded messages to their friends."

Imagine if the facts of that study were reassembled to stress how many children are allowed to surf the Internet without their parents' supervision.

Who'd be the bad guys then?

Pointing fingers is so much easier than actually proposing a meaningful solution.

Source: Adverblog

Taking Cheap Shots at Advertising Makes for Great Sound Bites

It’s easy for politicians to demonize advertising. And it prevents people from thinking too deeply about an issue lest they come to the conclusion that these same politicians are not doing anything meaningful about said issue.

Advertising does not make you buy things you don’t need.

When did you ever pick something up at the supermarket and think to yourself, “This product stinks but I’m going to buy it anyway because I really liked the TV commercial.”

If you bought it, you felt a need for it.

Advertising doesn’t make kids fat.

Josh and Jennifer aren’t overweight because Nabisco advertises cookies.

They’re fat because they eat too many calories and don’t exercise enough.

Wholesome foods take time to prepare – time most parents don’t have because they’re working longer and longer hours for pay that’s not increasing exponentially.

And unlike previous generations, kids today aren’t allowed – for good reason – to go outside and play unsupervised, running around all over the place, burning calories until suppertime.

Advertising does not cause eating disorders.

Anorexia and bulimia are not to be taken lightly. But while advertising (and Hollywood and the fashion industry) may fuel a disturbed teen’s distorted image of herself, advertising does not cause mental illness.

Advertising people aren’t sinister types who spend their time hatching dangerous campaigns to hurt people.

Not so much as one advertising conspiracy theory has ever been confirmed by an advertising professional.

The KBG, Stasi and Gestapo all had leaks. So to buy into any advertising conspiracy theory, you have to believe that advertising people are better at eliminating informants than the most ruthless secret police.

And, for the record, we have no plans to implant chips into kids’ brains.