Dec. 8, 2009 It’s Tuesday, time for our weekly “Packaging Boyhood” focus, so what better time than the holiday season to sound the 'red' siren on the 'green' brand that tween and teen boys are sucking up to...Monster energy drink. With everything from motocross and macho madness to the thumping, screaming, ‘over the top’ rebel yell, Monster ‘packs a vicious punch’ by … [Read more...]
Turning Boys Into Monsters: Energy Drink Leaves A Foul Taste (Again)
Are We Making Matters Worse By All The Body Image Chatter?
Sept. 3, 2009 Lots of chatter on Twitter about yesterday's Jezebel piece and the WSJ article about dieting 4th graders. It leads off, "In 1986, 80% of fourth-grade girls were dieting. Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow interviewed 100 of them back then, and recently followed up with a few, asking if they think things are getting better for girls. The verdict: It's … [Read more...]
Health 2.0: Got Mercury? Cellphone Tool For Fish Fanatics Like Me
Calling all kids, moms-to-be and women like me who eat fish a lot: Since we’re evidently more at risk than others from harm due to mercury ingestion and fish consumption, there’s now a cool little cellphone calculator to check before you chomp. GotMercury.mobi is an “on the go” extension of the GotMercury.org web site which I wrote about in this … [Read more...]
Will California’s New Menu Labeling Help Kids’ Health?
Congrats, wellness crusaders, the L.A. Times reports California is officially the first state in the nation to enact menu labeling policy for calorie count info on menu boards and food displays of chain restaurants with 20 or more outlets, phased in by 2011. (SB1420 fact sheet here and CSPI press release here) Wait a sec, didn’t we already approve this? I gave it 200% … [Read more...]
P.A.C.K. Week (Pack Assorted Colors for Kids) is ReBranded
Hands up if you’ve heard that TODAY is “pack purple day” to load lunchboxes with fresh blueberries, grapes, raisins, etc.? Um, yah, I thought not. Last year the "5-a-day" folks (now More Matters) launched a fun lil' marketing gimmick called P.A.C.K. week to color-code fruits and veggies, in an effort to raise awareness and consumption at school. So why … [Read more...]