Targeting kids: Marketing Genius?

#1

In an article by Eric Schlosser "Your Trusted Friends" Schlosser pounds us with statistics and other information while keeping the us entertained by keeping the read interesting by including two very important figures of American history, Walt Disney of the Disney corporation and Ray Kroc of the McDonald's franchise.
During the article Schlosser constantly shells us with past time facts of decisions made by the two giants in the advertising world, Disney and Kroc and how each developed a niche in their advertising to one group in particular, kids. Both Disney and Kroc made advertising to include bright colors and great cartoon characters that would be both influential and beneficial to kids by having the characters have good traits and having them salute the good old red, white and blue.
While the article may seem like it is praising the fact of advertising to children, if you look between the lines it is obvious to see Schlosser is really pointing out how children are no longer children, but puppets of corporations and their fun cartoon character advertising. To show this Schlosser spends a few paragraphs showing just how serious the effects of advertising to children can be harmful. "Many studies had found that young children often could not tell the difference between television programming and television advertising (192).
#5

There has been debates of the decades of wether or not corporations should be able to target children as their main audience. Some of the people on the corporations side say "Why not, what's the harm in throwing a few colorful characters in the world of advertising?" while others say it is unethical to target children for a companies quick buck. Eric Schlosser, an investigative journalist, is sided with the latter of the two while I agree with the former.
Companies targetting children for their main source of income is not a problem to me as I was once a child and can fondly remember stepping into a Kroger and seeing a Winnie the Poo coloring book placed near the check out stations of the store. While Schlosser would say that in the end of all of these marketing strategies damage a child's perception on what is what, I say it is okay to have a child have fun with his youth and relish in the ecstasy that is the cartoon advertising world. Though sometimes I think the companies exploit the fact children are easy to take control of and I think the companies should take moral and ethical responsibility to take the advertising down a notch to children.
Schlosser puts in good information through the course of his article which opens up the eyes of those who are ignorant enough to say advertising is not a harmful tool no matter what its use is for. "Children's clubs have for years been considered an effective means of targeting ads and collecting demographic information..." (191). This is where i have common ground with Schlosser, targeting children for their marketing ploys is fine, but if a child feels he needs to join a club for acceptance, then that is where i draw the line of marketing towards children. I think kids of all ages should be able to be accepted no matter if they are a part of the Micky Mouse Club or not.

Cookie Cutter America

Yves Engler and I have a common belief on a large topic at hand in America today, and when I say large I mean that figuratively and literally. While according to the latest statistics of the obesity charts, 61% of Americans are considered overweight, but while some blame the overall responsibility of this problem on the individual the rest of us agree that it is actually the government's fault for making us this way.
The main problem Americans are having trouble with is the fact that America itself won't let us be what we are, this is where Engler and I have common ground. America's advertising is always showing us what we should look like and if we don't fit in the cookie cutter shape, then this is how we can. Today many advertisements give us the option of their dollar menus, and why not? It's only 89 cents and a few times a week won't hurt us, right?
Engler suggests us Americans to start getting thinner by solving the threat to the younger generation through more active daily routines, I think this is a great way to eliminate the growing problem, but where do we, the middle aged victims, fit in? To solve this obesity epidemic I suggest we begin to take action by not eating at these fast food restaurant death traps. I suggest we stay true to ourselves by staying healthy and active without purchasing the diet guides, but not by helping the corporations only planning to later write what is on our headstone "Eat at Burger King."

Blog 3

It seems to be that Yves Engler, political activist and writer, has a problem with the motives of capitalist America. The theme of his article, which was posted in Z magazine in 2003, “Obesity: Most of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations” is the raging battle of obesity and the reason for the rising epidemic in America, the food industry. Engler drives his facts down with an anvil and is relentless his whole way through his argument.
In Engler’s view “The main reason people are consuming more, especially unhealthy products, is the food industry’s relentless advertising, especially to children” (175). It is statements like this and the facts which he backs his argument up with that make Engler’s article very convincing and persuasive. What Engler is doing in each one of his individual statements is saying the major reason our country is becoming more obese by the whopper is because of our capitalist nation and how we advertise our products to consumers. What really makes this article persuasive is just the sheer amount of facts Engler spits out while keeping his own voice to carry on his argument in an engaging way.
Throughout the entirty of Engler’s article, no current company is safe from the clutches of his enlightening telling. He makes a point to go across each company out there and exploit what they are doing to make America obese and not just fast food companies either, televising broadcast networks lay victim to Engler’s well addressed argument. It is easy to see that Yves Engler’s article hits home with every paragraph that is put on the paper, with hard facts and a great backing voice.