Who Advertises for Apples?

So I was reading in the news the other day about a fight that is going on in Washington. This fight is between the government, who believes it is acting in the peoples' best interest, and the makers of processed foods and beverages, who are sure they are acting in their own best interest.

The fight is over what sorts of food are acceptable to market to children. In particular, the article was about Goldfish Crackers. The government was contending that Goldfish should be classified as junk food, and not marketed to children, on the basis of the fact that they are made with white flower and other processed ingredients, as well as the fact that they have saturated fat in them. The lobby group that represents Campbell's, the company who makes the Goldfish in question contends that they should be classified as 'healthful,' and thus acceptable to market to children.

I think that they are both wrong.

As a father of three, you might imagine that I have very strong opinions on this subject. Lets ignore for this post the association of TV with childhood obesity, and only consider the marketing aspects. What kind of foods should be OK to market to people who have poor impulse control, no or little rational capacity for decision making, and most importantly, no money of their own with which to buy those foods? The answer is none. Yet these corporations market directly to children. My children and yours. It is disgusting.

We all know why they do it. They figure if they implant enough images of their products in the minds of kids, those kids will grow up knowing and using their products, and they will have generations of brainwashed adults. Why not? It worked great with my generation. Earlier this month, I read that fewer than 25% of people my age remember that the USA used to be a British colony, but I'll bet that 80 or 90% can remember the Big Mac song:

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun

It is clear that marketing is very effective. It is even more effective when done to children, who are more easily influenced and lack the impulse control that many adults possess. Why then does it occur?

I do not think this is the fault of the government. Not because I think the government is doing a good job, but mainly because as is true of most things they get involved in, the government has no role here. The government's job is not to tell people what to advertise and what not to advertise.

The blame goes only in one place: us. We are all to blame for this mess. We, the CEO's and marketers of corporations who should value their customers more than their bottom line, and recognize that they have violated basic ethics by marketing to children AT ALL. We, the people who permit this kind of unethical advertising by watching the TV programs in the first place. Finally, we who do not punish the companies who are harming our children by boycotting their products. Instead, we expect elected officials who listen to the selfsame companies via lobbyists to fix the problem, so that no lifestyle changes will be required by us.

Join me in taking responsibility for that blame, and help guide your children away from TV and advertising, and toward healthy activities and foods. Remember that the foods that no one advertises or lobbies for are probably the best ones for you and your children!