Has competition between advertiser’s and their demand for brand loyalty gone too far?
According to Jennifer L. Harris, Ph.D., M.B.A., director of marketing initiatives at Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, "Despite pledges to improve their marketing practices, fast food companies seem to be stepping up their efforts to target kids," and "Today, preschoolers see 21% more fast food ads on TV than they saw in 2003, and somewhat older children see 34% more."
Forty percent of children ages 2-11 ask their parents to go to McDonald’s at least once a week, and 15% of preschoolers ask to go every day.
The average preschooler sees almost three ads per day for fast food; children ages 6-11 see three-and-a-half ads
Children’s food choices are affected by secondhand exposure to ads for foods and beverages targeted to adults. More than 60% of fast food ads viewed by children were for foods other than kids’ meals. Accordingly, older children (ages 6-11) are more likely to order an item from the dollar menu or a combo meal (27%) than to order a kids’ meal (21%).
