Marketing Manipulation: Don’t Fall For It
Junk food marketing is omnipresent in today’s society: children grow up watching and listening to advertisements that employ jingles, slogans, and celebrity appearances. Virtually every child has memorized the catchy McDonald’s jingle or has seen their favorite cartoons on cereal boxes. Brands use these techniques and many more to create a positive perception for their products, when in reality, they are capable of doing more harm than good.
Several strategies have been employed to try to steer children and teenagers away from junk foods and towards healthier alternatives, but none have shown much success. For example, past interventions aimed to inform teens about the long-term consequences of unhealthy eating, but these approaches did not seem to show lasting effects. A new study from the University of Chicago chose to emphasize the marketing aspect of junk food where they have shown that an intervention-style approach can help teens improve eating habits. This intervention teaches students to be wary of food marketing tactics and know the difference between healthy and unhealthy eating behaviors.
All teenagers go through phases of independence, identity, and rebellion although the extent varies from teen to teen. This intervention intends to tap into the adolescent desire to rebel against authority; in this case, the authority being the companies that use deceptive marketing strategies to sell their products. Almost always, these strategies are aimed at children and young adults. In the interventions, students were given fact-based articles that portrayed junk food corporations as manipulative businessman trying to trick their audience into buying their addictive products for financial gain. Then, students were given the opportunity to remake advertisements to make them honest and accurate by eliminating marketing gimmicks. This approach reinforced the deceptive nature of these large corporations.
Several strategies have been employed to try to steer children and teenagers away from junk foods and towards healthier alternatives, but none have shown much success. For example, past interventions aimed to inform teens about the long-term consequences of unhealthy eating, but these approaches did not seem to show lasting effects. A new study from the University of Chicago chose to emphasize the marketing aspect of junk food where they have shown that an intervention-style approach can help teens improve eating habits. This intervention teaches students to be wary of food marketing tactics and know the difference between healthy and unhealthy eating behaviors.
All teenagers go through phases of independence, identity, and rebellion although the extent varies from teen to teen. This intervention intends to tap into the adolescent desire to rebel against authority; in this case, the authority being the companies that use deceptive marketing strategies to sell their products. Almost always, these strategies are aimed at children and young adults. In the interventions, students were given fact-based articles that portrayed junk food corporations as manipulative businessman trying to trick their audience into buying their addictive products for financial gain. Then, students were given the opportunity to remake advertisements to make them honest and accurate by eliminating marketing gimmicks. This approach reinforced the deceptive nature of these large corporations.
Junk food companies use advertising tactics to create positive associations with unhealthy foods.
Image Source: Gellinger
The dietary habits of these middle school students were monitored after the intervention for the remainder of the school year (about 3 months). It was shown that, compared to the control group, purchases of unhealthy snacks and drinks decreased by 31%. When looking at traditional intervention methods, this new approach promises much wider and longer-lasting success because of its ability to tap into the innate adolescent desire to rebel. This is a helpful breakthrough in health education and promotion, and with further research and testing, the rate of unhealthy food purchases could potentially diminish even more.
The goal now is to make more children and teenagers aware of the marketing manipulation that exists so prevalently in our society. We see advertisements almost everywhere we go. Fast food companies try to make their burgers and fries look savory while hiding the calories and fat they contain. Soda companies make their beverages look thirst-quenching while hiding the high sugar content in each serving. When more people are exposed to the realities of the junk food industry, parents and youth alike are encouraged to live happier and healthier lives.
The goal now is to make more children and teenagers aware of the marketing manipulation that exists so prevalently in our society. We see advertisements almost everywhere we go. Fast food companies try to make their burgers and fries look savory while hiding the calories and fat they contain. Soda companies make their beverages look thirst-quenching while hiding the high sugar content in each serving. When more people are exposed to the realities of the junk food industry, parents and youth alike are encouraged to live happier and healthier lives.
Featured Image Source: kreatikar
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