Peer Driven Junk Food Allure & What’s Cool to Kids

I wrote "Counter-Marketing via Joe Camel" long before my middle-schooler was being enticed to enjoy Frapuccinos for coolness caché, or max out her prepaid Jamba Juice card with Banana Berry fulfillment, so it's interesting to see how peer buzz slides seamlessly through each age group. Guess I should be thankful she hasn't succumbed to the 'Pink Star' posse. That's … [Read more...]

Extreme Lunch Box Makeovers: Counter-Marketing via Joe Camel

This is a first-person 'retro' piece which I've recently shared with Daughters bimonthly and decided to freshen with updated research & links to post here on our own blog. Enjoy!--Amy I’m not sure when the peer lunch box radar kicked in…It must’ve been sometime between first grade and second, concurrent with the “dresses are worn with shorts under … [Read more...]

The junk food hydra: Ad industry self-regulation is oxymoronic

New media channels for sugary snacks parallel a Greek mythology lesson…even if the head is cut off the Hydra, two more pop up on the serpent to replace it. The junk food siren endlessly beckons to kids… Just when parents were granted a mini-exhale with the tightening of a few minor junk food regulations in last week's newly released CARU guidelines, the … [Read more...]

KFC bans trans-fat in chicken: Are they pulling our leg?

My advertising radar blipped with guarded glee when I heard KFC was being wildly applauded as the hero of the hour for ditching their trans-fats in fried foods in favor of a low linolenic soybean oil. KFC’s drive-through banners tout “Feed your family for under $4!” and “Looney Tunes Laptop meals designed just for kids” so my initial take on … [Read more...]

Dove Love, “Daughters,” & Industry Backlash

Can’t get enough of the Dove blitz? You’re not alone. So far, about 9400 replies are posted on Dove’s Self Esteem Forum, plus another 2200 in their site's Body Image forum. There are some raw, jangled nerves out there, particularly the heart-wrenching comments coming from teens. Yeah, yeah, Dove is selling good will along with their soap. So what? Bravo! … [Read more...]