http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070918/news_lz1c18notes.html
My immediate reaction was "No kidding!" Now I know it's been awhile since I've watched Saturday morning cartoons (being a kid was so fun!) but I can remember seeing commercials for Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch, Lunchables, Gushers, Kool-Aid, and Squeeze-Its (remember those sugary drinks - BTW there is a petition on the Internet to bring them back!).
Of course not all kids are going to pay attention to all of these commercials but I think it would be a safe bet to say that a lot of kids remember most of these messages. This is their means of health communication for nutrition. No wonder we are in a battle against obesity!
I remember being in elementary school and wanting my mom to pack me a better lunch (meaning more sugary treats) because no one would trade with me at lunchtime. Now I'm glad that she didn't buy all the food I saw advertised on TV during Saturday morning cartoons! It's interesting that I don't notice these ads as much anymore. I'm sure they are still being run but I just don't choose to pay attention anymore.
This brings us to one of the topics we discussed in class on Monday - selectivity. Meaning we choose where to put our attention based on personal relevance. We are constantly bombarded by so many messages that it would be impossible to pay attention to all of them, so we only pay attention to certain ones. After thinking about it I realized that I must pass a lot of billboards when I'm driving and I can only think of one. There is a Sycuan billboard on the 94 East that I always notice - maybe I'm intrigued with the possibility of going there and winning lots of money! Which probably wouldn't happen - but the advertisers are doing a good job of appealing to people similar to myself (a poor college student)! This presents an interesting challenge for us health communicators. Just because our message is out there does not mean it is being heard! It is probably hidden under the flashy casino ads and cartoon cereal commercials just hoping for someone to choose to pay attention to it!
2 comments:
Fortunately for advertisers, we are all susceptible to their marketing ploys. McDonald’s would not be a multi-million dollar, worldwide company if they didn’t target children in their ads. They know parents are dog tired after a day on the job (in or out of the home) and are easy prey for whining kids who just saw some clown selling fat-laced hamburgers and greasy fries on the TV.
Subsequently parents focus their “attention based on personal relevance” to fulfilling their child’s desires. That is, unless they have enough strength left to reason with the child and persuade them that proper nutrition is a far better alternative . . . yeah, right! Good luck!
Consider yourself one of the lucky few who had parents with enough resolve to try to give you good lunches that “. . . no one would trade [for] at lunchtime.”
Proper nutrition takes discipline. Discipline, in all things, is very difficult to learn and when it’s all too easy to give in to temptation, most will take the easy path. However, once learned and ingrained, it will remain as a basis for good decision-making. It also becomes easier to ignore those billboards and TV commercials.
Your posting made me think about what I heard on a local radio station the other day. The D.J. was saying that 50 years from now we will look back at the way we eat today and be appalled that we actually ate all the fast food junk filled with trans fats, sugar, sodium and preservatives. Much like we look back today and marvel at how many people used to smoke cigarettes. We seem to trade one bad health habit for another.
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