References: Eat Well For Less? (2015) BBC 1, 17th September.
Special Commercials (2015) Shop a Lidl Smarter - Lidl Advert 2015. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNNJreO4dZw (Accessed: 22nd September 2015).
I came across a programme on BBC 1 last week called 'Eat Well For Less?'. The aim of the programme is to follow a family who are spending a significant amount of money on food and reduce the amount of money they are spending on their weekly food shops, whilst also factoring in healthier eating. A quote from the title sequence is 'It's not just about saving money, it's about saving families diets for the better'.
They basically follow them on a typical food shop, see what they are spending and what on and then try to reduce that amount by swapping certain foods for cheaper or healthier options. They put everything in plain packaging so that the family don't know whats been swapped or not and this means that the family then have to decide whether they like a food or not based purely on taste and not on packaging or price.
A lot of families on the programme are obsessed with expensive brand names and pretty/fancy looking packaging. By placing everything in plain packaging, the show makes them realise how they have been sucked in by the marketing, packaging and appearance of a food. They have to decide whether they like a food or not and most of the time, but not always, they like cheaper and healthier options just as much, if not more than their usual big brand names.
Another part of the show takes to the streets of Britain, targeting the public to do 'taste tests'. They take several different brands of the same type of food, for example, Strawberry Jam, and mix them all up so that the tasters have no idea which one is which and they then have to guess based on taste alone. Some they get right, others they get completely wrong making them think twice about choosing a product based on it's brand alone. A lot of the time the most expensive products weren't their favourite and in fact the cheap, supermarkets own come up first!
This show isn't the first to do 'taste tests', Lidl have been using this tactic on their television advertisements for a little while now and have fooled many people into thinking they are eating a certain brand when in fact it's their own cheaper brand.
I want to complete my own taste tests aimed at children to find out a) which type of marketing is most effective to children; advertisements, free toys or characters and b) if children think a food tastes different depending on what packaging it is in.
I will be creating two different tests to find out the answers to the two above questions.
The first test will be to find out which type of marketing is most effective and it will be a test between three different products. The first product will come with an accompanying television advertisement which will be shown before the food is chosen, the second will include a free promotional toy and the third will have a popular character on the packaging. The children will then have to choose which one of the products they want to consume, and have to choose only one. This is to find out which of those marketing techniques are coming up strongest.
The second test will be to find out whether the appearance of a product overall effects the children's idea of the taste of that product. Three of exactly the same products will each be packaged in three different boxes/packets, the first will have a completely plain packet, the second will have a character on the packet and the third will have a popular brand name on. The children will have to taste all three products and then decide which one they thought was the nicest tasting.
I will be completing these taste tests over the next couple of weeks and will record all results and write up a summary to follow...
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
Survey: Insight into children' food habits and diets. (RESULTS)
Last week I sent out a survey to 40 different families asking the person who does the food shopping to complete the survey for me. I have had 30 replies back and so I am basing my results on these particular 30 families. The families in question have children ranging from 2-16 years old and all come from different areas within the UK.
Here are the results of the survey:
Question 1 asked: When shopping with your children, do they ask you to purchase certain foods for them?
20% answered Yes, most of the time.
60% answered Occasionally, they sometimes ask for certain things.
20% answered No, my children do not ask me to purchase certain products.
The majority of the children in these families sometimes ask for products in particular, but not always. There are as many children asking for products 'most of the time' as there is not asking for products at all, but the strong majority is that children are asking for products a percentage of the time.
Question 2 asked: If you answered Yes or Occasionally to question 1, do the foods your children ask for tend to be healthy options or unhealthier choices?
30% answered Healthy
None answered Unhealthy
70% answered Both
Most children ask for a range of both healthy and unhealthy products, or they do not have a preference when it comes to choosing a food based on it's nutritional value. Some children ask for healthy foods specifically, whereas none of the children in question ask for unhealthy foods. These results tell me that children who are asking their parents for foods are not asking them for unhealthy foods specifically, most of them are asking for a range and therefore may not be taking into consideration whether or not they are 'good for them'. This is good to hear as it means that the reasoning behind them eating the unhealthy options is not down to them knowing that can be bad for them.
Question 3 asked: Do you purchase the foods that your children ask for?
None answered Yes, I purchase the foods which my children ask me for.
80% answered Sometimes, I compromise and purchase certain foods which they ask for but not everything.
20% answered No, I purchase foods which I personally think are most appropriate.
The majority of children are getting a percentage of food which they are asking their parents/guardians for, but not everything. These results show that parents are giving in to their children's demands to a certain extent, but are compromising and not letting them have absolutely everything that they ask for. Only 20% buy foods that they personally think that are most appropriate and none at all are buying everything that their children ask for. Although the majority of parents may think they are being fair by compromising, they are still allowing a percentage of the foods their children are asking for into their homes. This could mean that the advertisers are still winning by targeting the children who then target their parents into buying their products.
Question 4 asked: Has a television advertisement ever made your children ask for a certain food product?
60% answered Yes, TV adverts have had an impact on my children wanting a certain food product.
40% answered No, TV adverts have never had an impact on whether my children want a certain food or not.
This shows that there are more children influenced by television advertisements than there are not influenced at all. This means that the advertisers taking to the television to advertise are getting their message out there loud and clear, and it's working too. It is one of the biggest platforms to advertise on and to get around the country fast and children seem to be falling into their trap quite easily.
Question 5 asked: Are your children more likely to want a certain food because it uses a certain character on the packaging/advertisements?
None answered Yes, if the packaging features a character they like then they are more likely to want that food, regardless of the type of food.
60% answered Sometimes, foods featuring their favourite characters makes them more likely to want it, but it depends what type of food it is.
40% answered No, the characters on the packaging has no impact on whether or not they want that particular food.
Same as with TV advertisements, there are more children influenced by their favourite characters than there are not influenced at all. This proves that characters do have a big input on whether or not a child wants to eat a certain food. Although there is still 40% who are not influenced at all, these were the older children within the bracket (13-16) and so these results show that younger children (under 13) are more likely to want a product if it shows a character they favour. Another thing to be taken into account with these results is that the type of food that the character is featured on also matters, it is not enough on it's own to make the child want the product.
Question 6 asked: Which of the following is most likely to make your children want to eat a certain food?
10% answered A television advertisement.20% answered The packaging of the product.20% answered A free giveaway (e.g a free toy).
30% answered The taste of the food. 10% answered The appearance of the food. 10% answered Because it is good for them.
Surprisingly, the taste of the food comes up most important in a child's decision to eat it. Free toys and product packaging is next in line before the appearance, tv advertisements and the healthiness of the products. This shows that the most important thing about a food for a child is how it tastes, the other things are just bonuses which are used as bribes to sway children towards a certain food. These results show that children don't really take into account whether or not something is healthy for them and they consider the taste of the product to be more important than the appearance.
Question 7 asked: If you make a packed lunch for your children, which of the following items are more likely to get eaten?
33.3% answered Sandwiches33.3% answered Fruits 33.3% answered Snacks e.g. Crisps, Chocolate, Biscuits etc.
This shows that it doesn't matter what type of food is put into a child's packed lunch, they don't pick particular items out and leave others, they mostly eat what they are given. This means that parents have more control over what their child eats whilst in school by packing their lunches for them.
Question 8 asked: If your children had a choice whether they could eat a piece of fruit or have a sugary snack such as a chocolate bar, which would they be more likely to choose?
None answered A piece of fruit, my children favour fruit snacks over sugary snacks.
20% answered A sugary snack, my children favour sugary snacks compared to fruit.
80% answered It depends, sometimes they would choose the fruit, other times they would choose the chocolate bar.
This shows that the majority of children don't have a preference when it comes to whether a food is healthy or not. They choose the foods they eat based on taste and not nutritional value. Although the results do show that 20% of the children in question prefer unhealthy, sugary snacks compared to fruit snacks, the majority still stands as impartial to a sugary snack vs fruit.
Question 9 asked: Do your children's diets differ to yours when you were their age?
40% answered No, my children's diets are almost the same as mine when I was their age.
20% answered Yes, I used to eat a much healthier, balanced diet.
40% answered Yes, I didn't have as healthy a diet as what my children have.
These results show that children's diets have either stayed the same or improved compared to their parents diets at their ages. Only 20% said that their diets were healthier and more balanced than their children's are now, the rest are either the same or healthier than their parents was. This is a surprising result as I would have thought that parents had a much healthier and balanced diet when they were younger as all we seem to hear about lately is how children's diets are going down hill. On the other hand, however, if a parent had a poor diet as a child they should be more likely to make a conscious effort for their children to have an improved diet compared to them so that they don't encounter the same problems they may have experienced.
Overall, the outcome of this survey has been successful in answering some of the questions I wanted clarifying. Although parents have the final say in what they are purchasing for their children, a lot of parents are giving in to children's food demands and buying them certain products which they specifically ask for. Children are asking for these products because they have seen a television advertisement, or it features a character they like, meaning that advertisers are in fact getting into the heads of children. I've discovered that the taste of a food is even more important to a child than an advertisement, character or free toy. They take the taste of the food into account more than it's appearance or how healthy it is for them but are still influenced by those things in a smaller amount. They aren't taking into consideration the nutritional value of foods and aren't particularly swayed into eating/not eating a food because of it's healthiness. They don't have a preference when it comes to whether they eat a healthy snack or an unhealthy snack, they choose it based on taste value, packaging or promotional offers. Finally, the families which completed this survey found that their children's diets have either stayed the same as theirs or improved compared to theirs when they were younger.
Here are the results of the survey:
Question 1 asked: When shopping with your children, do they ask you to purchase certain foods for them?
20% answered Yes, most of the time.
60% answered Occasionally, they sometimes ask for certain things.
20% answered No, my children do not ask me to purchase certain products.
The majority of the children in these families sometimes ask for products in particular, but not always. There are as many children asking for products 'most of the time' as there is not asking for products at all, but the strong majority is that children are asking for products a percentage of the time.
Question 2 asked: If you answered Yes or Occasionally to question 1, do the foods your children ask for tend to be healthy options or unhealthier choices?
30% answered Healthy
None answered Unhealthy
70% answered Both
Most children ask for a range of both healthy and unhealthy products, or they do not have a preference when it comes to choosing a food based on it's nutritional value. Some children ask for healthy foods specifically, whereas none of the children in question ask for unhealthy foods. These results tell me that children who are asking their parents for foods are not asking them for unhealthy foods specifically, most of them are asking for a range and therefore may not be taking into consideration whether or not they are 'good for them'. This is good to hear as it means that the reasoning behind them eating the unhealthy options is not down to them knowing that can be bad for them.
Question 3 asked: Do you purchase the foods that your children ask for?
None answered Yes, I purchase the foods which my children ask me for.
80% answered Sometimes, I compromise and purchase certain foods which they ask for but not everything.
20% answered No, I purchase foods which I personally think are most appropriate.
The majority of children are getting a percentage of food which they are asking their parents/guardians for, but not everything. These results show that parents are giving in to their children's demands to a certain extent, but are compromising and not letting them have absolutely everything that they ask for. Only 20% buy foods that they personally think that are most appropriate and none at all are buying everything that their children ask for. Although the majority of parents may think they are being fair by compromising, they are still allowing a percentage of the foods their children are asking for into their homes. This could mean that the advertisers are still winning by targeting the children who then target their parents into buying their products.
Question 4 asked: Has a television advertisement ever made your children ask for a certain food product?
60% answered Yes, TV adverts have had an impact on my children wanting a certain food product.
40% answered No, TV adverts have never had an impact on whether my children want a certain food or not.
This shows that there are more children influenced by television advertisements than there are not influenced at all. This means that the advertisers taking to the television to advertise are getting their message out there loud and clear, and it's working too. It is one of the biggest platforms to advertise on and to get around the country fast and children seem to be falling into their trap quite easily.
Question 5 asked: Are your children more likely to want a certain food because it uses a certain character on the packaging/advertisements?
None answered Yes, if the packaging features a character they like then they are more likely to want that food, regardless of the type of food.
60% answered Sometimes, foods featuring their favourite characters makes them more likely to want it, but it depends what type of food it is.
40% answered No, the characters on the packaging has no impact on whether or not they want that particular food.
Same as with TV advertisements, there are more children influenced by their favourite characters than there are not influenced at all. This proves that characters do have a big input on whether or not a child wants to eat a certain food. Although there is still 40% who are not influenced at all, these were the older children within the bracket (13-16) and so these results show that younger children (under 13) are more likely to want a product if it shows a character they favour. Another thing to be taken into account with these results is that the type of food that the character is featured on also matters, it is not enough on it's own to make the child want the product.
Question 6 asked: Which of the following is most likely to make your children want to eat a certain food?
10% answered A television advertisement.20% answered The packaging of the product.20% answered A free giveaway (e.g a free toy).
30% answered The taste of the food. 10% answered The appearance of the food. 10% answered Because it is good for them.
Surprisingly, the taste of the food comes up most important in a child's decision to eat it. Free toys and product packaging is next in line before the appearance, tv advertisements and the healthiness of the products. This shows that the most important thing about a food for a child is how it tastes, the other things are just bonuses which are used as bribes to sway children towards a certain food. These results show that children don't really take into account whether or not something is healthy for them and they consider the taste of the product to be more important than the appearance.
Question 7 asked: If you make a packed lunch for your children, which of the following items are more likely to get eaten?
33.3% answered Sandwiches33.3% answered Fruits 33.3% answered Snacks e.g. Crisps, Chocolate, Biscuits etc.
This shows that it doesn't matter what type of food is put into a child's packed lunch, they don't pick particular items out and leave others, they mostly eat what they are given. This means that parents have more control over what their child eats whilst in school by packing their lunches for them.
Question 8 asked: If your children had a choice whether they could eat a piece of fruit or have a sugary snack such as a chocolate bar, which would they be more likely to choose?
None answered A piece of fruit, my children favour fruit snacks over sugary snacks.
20% answered A sugary snack, my children favour sugary snacks compared to fruit.
80% answered It depends, sometimes they would choose the fruit, other times they would choose the chocolate bar.
This shows that the majority of children don't have a preference when it comes to whether a food is healthy or not. They choose the foods they eat based on taste and not nutritional value. Although the results do show that 20% of the children in question prefer unhealthy, sugary snacks compared to fruit snacks, the majority still stands as impartial to a sugary snack vs fruit.
Question 9 asked: Do your children's diets differ to yours when you were their age?
40% answered No, my children's diets are almost the same as mine when I was their age.
20% answered Yes, I used to eat a much healthier, balanced diet.
40% answered Yes, I didn't have as healthy a diet as what my children have.
These results show that children's diets have either stayed the same or improved compared to their parents diets at their ages. Only 20% said that their diets were healthier and more balanced than their children's are now, the rest are either the same or healthier than their parents was. This is a surprising result as I would have thought that parents had a much healthier and balanced diet when they were younger as all we seem to hear about lately is how children's diets are going down hill. On the other hand, however, if a parent had a poor diet as a child they should be more likely to make a conscious effort for their children to have an improved diet compared to them so that they don't encounter the same problems they may have experienced.
Overall, the outcome of this survey has been successful in answering some of the questions I wanted clarifying. Although parents have the final say in what they are purchasing for their children, a lot of parents are giving in to children's food demands and buying them certain products which they specifically ask for. Children are asking for these products because they have seen a television advertisement, or it features a character they like, meaning that advertisers are in fact getting into the heads of children. I've discovered that the taste of a food is even more important to a child than an advertisement, character or free toy. They take the taste of the food into account more than it's appearance or how healthy it is for them but are still influenced by those things in a smaller amount. They aren't taking into consideration the nutritional value of foods and aren't particularly swayed into eating/not eating a food because of it's healthiness. They don't have a preference when it comes to whether they eat a healthy snack or an unhealthy snack, they choose it based on taste value, packaging or promotional offers. Finally, the families which completed this survey found that their children's diets have either stayed the same as theirs or improved compared to theirs when they were younger.
Thursday, 17 September 2015
Free Promotional Toys.
New: Pringles Party Speaker. (2015) Available at: http://www.fliptime.co.uk/new-pringles-party-speaker/ (Accessed: 17 September 2015).
Jones, JM (2015) 'Free Toy Promotions, Fast Food Children's Meals and Social Responsibility: Examining the Effects of Toy Value, Nutrition Information and Moderating Variable', Journal Of Managerial Issues, 26, 3, pp. 240-258. Education Source, EBSCOhost (Accessed: 17 September 2015).
One major bribe that occurs in children's food is free toys and McDonalds aren't the only offenders. Kinder Surprise Eggs give away a free toy inside every egg and a lot of children's cereal boxes used to give away free toys inside the packets until it became a health and safety risk. That didn't stop them, however, now they just use a different tactic which is even worse! Now, you have to collect several boxes to enable you to send off for the free toy, so not only do you have to purchase the food several times, you also have to pay a fee to get it sent out to you, so it's not even free in the first place! Pringles are also guilty of this as they offer a 'free speaker' when in reality you have to buy several boxes of Pringles and then pay a fee also. This tactic is even worse than just giving away a free toy within the packaging as it encourages people to buy more and more of the food, even if they don't need it, just to get the 'free gift'.
Researchers have pointed out that the average value of the sales promotion is 20% or less of the value of the promoted products; however, for toys with children’s meals, the standard level is much higher, up to 50% of the promoted product’s value (further, some toys have surpassed 75% of value of meals). Most fast food chains have become involved in gradual increases of toy value because they are rising to competitors’ offers.
The journal covers a study which looks to provide answers for the following: If toys were totally withdrawn from children’s meals or were a
substantially reduced value, would consumers have different responses toward the meals? If toys were used as promotions with healthier meals but not with normal meals,
would consumers have different responses?
The first study looks at the effects of stopping free toys in fast food promotions all together, it also looks at significantly cutting down the value of the free toys that are given and the effects that may have.
If they were to stop giving away toys completely, this is a huge change and of course people don't like too much change. This could lead to total resistance and could have extremely negative effects compared to slowly and subtly decreasing the value of the toys.
Jones, JM (2015) 'Free Toy Promotions, Fast Food Children's Meals and Social Responsibility: Examining the Effects of Toy Value, Nutrition Information and Moderating Variable', Journal Of Managerial Issues, 26, 3, pp. 240-258. Education Source, EBSCOhost (Accessed: 17 September 2015).
One major bribe that occurs in children's food is free toys and McDonalds aren't the only offenders. Kinder Surprise Eggs give away a free toy inside every egg and a lot of children's cereal boxes used to give away free toys inside the packets until it became a health and safety risk. That didn't stop them, however, now they just use a different tactic which is even worse! Now, you have to collect several boxes to enable you to send off for the free toy, so not only do you have to purchase the food several times, you also have to pay a fee to get it sent out to you, so it's not even free in the first place! Pringles are also guilty of this as they offer a 'free speaker' when in reality you have to buy several boxes of Pringles and then pay a fee also. This tactic is even worse than just giving away a free toy within the packaging as it encourages people to buy more and more of the food, even if they don't need it, just to get the 'free gift'.
I found a journal online which covers some interesting points on free toy promotions, looking specifically towards fast food restaurants.
Toys were introduced as sales promotions in the 1970s. With childhood obesity on the rise, fast food restaurants have been campaigned against to reduce the value of the free toys, only offer them with healthy options, or stop giving them away all together. Fast food restaurants argue that it is not their responsibility to change, it lies with the parents and they are simply adding to the fun experience of eating in their restaurants by giving away free gifts.
Researchers have pointed out that the average value of the sales promotion is 20% or less of the value of the promoted products; however, for toys with children’s meals, the standard level is much higher, up to 50% of the promoted product’s value (further, some toys have surpassed 75% of value of meals). Most fast food chains have become involved in gradual increases of toy value because they are rising to competitors’ offers.
The first study looks at the effects of stopping free toys in fast food promotions all together, it also looks at significantly cutting down the value of the free toys that are given and the effects that may have.
If they were to stop giving away toys completely, this is a huge change and of course people don't like too much change. This could lead to total resistance and could have extremely negative effects compared to slowly and subtly decreasing the value of the toys.
The findings suggested that offering substantially lower-value toys or uncoupling
toys produces unfavorable effects. That is, consumers expect toy promotions of a certain
value. If fast food chains respond to calls for them to discontinue toys completely or to offer new
toys with substantially reduced value, consumers will not respond favorably.
The second study extends the research to include nutritional information. It
addresses toys to be offered with healthier meals but not with less-healthy
normal meals. Overall, the second study looks into the effects of the different levels of
nutrition information and free toy/no toy.
Although findings from this study suggested that
nutrition information labels for more healthy meals had slightly more favorable effects
than labels for normal less-healthy meals, it was not significant. The findings suggested
that nutrition information labels had far less impact than toy promotions. Some individuals believed that
healthier options helped fast food chains establish better relationships; however, other individuals gave only a few comments about nutrition but provided several, critical
comments about the idea of dropping toys as promotions. The majority of people thought that if fast food chains offer healthier options along with social benefits (e.g., “Ronald
McDonald House Charities”), then adults would feel better about them and would be
more likely to listen to children’s input.
Overall, findings from both studies suggested differential impact of toy promotions
and revealed patterns of interactions which indicated strong moderating effects. The
findings suggested that if QSRs altered their current way of offering toy promotions (i.e., if QSRs offered substantially lower-value toys, or if they did not offer toys, or if they
offered toys only with healthier meals), they produced unfavorable effects.
It just goes to show that although some people may argue that fast food chains need to make huge changes immediately, it doesn't always have the desired effect. Although in the long term, a lot of people would benefit from healthier food being promoted much more than it's unhealthy counterparts and free toys not being used to bribe children into choosing them, it isn't always as simple as that. If they were to stop giving away free toys completely, people would start to complain about the value of the meals and argue that they should be made cheaper because they are no longer offering any giveaways. The same goes for if they only offered free toys with healthy options, they would have people complain that the unhealthy options should be cheaper because they aren't offering quite as much.
There's no doubt that changes need to be made, but they definitely need to be made slowly over a long period of time in order for the changes to be successful and not put anyone out of business, jobs etc.
It just goes to show that although some people may argue that fast food chains need to make huge changes immediately, it doesn't always have the desired effect. Although in the long term, a lot of people would benefit from healthier food being promoted much more than it's unhealthy counterparts and free toys not being used to bribe children into choosing them, it isn't always as simple as that. If they were to stop giving away free toys completely, people would start to complain about the value of the meals and argue that they should be made cheaper because they are no longer offering any giveaways. The same goes for if they only offered free toys with healthy options, they would have people complain that the unhealthy options should be cheaper because they aren't offering quite as much.
There's no doubt that changes need to be made, but they definitely need to be made slowly over a long period of time in order for the changes to be successful and not put anyone out of business, jobs etc.
Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Brand Recognition
Tom (2010) Wiggers World: Header Challenge 17. Available at: http://womtig.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/header-challenge-17.html (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
McDonald's (1962) logo. (2008) Available at: http://goodlogo.com/extended.info/mcdonalds-logo-2465 (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
Domino's: Brands of the world. (2015) Available at: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logo/dominos (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
DM: Design Mantic. (28th October 2014) Available at: http://www.designmantic.com/blog/choose-colors-wisely-for-your-business/ (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
Glass & a Half Full Productions: we are fallon. (11th October 2011) Available at: http://www.fallon.co.uk/work/show/id/22 (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
Back onto the subject of subliminal messages, we may not always realise that we have been targeted through advertisers. For example, although the Cadbury advertisement with the gorilla playing the drums may not make you want to go and purchase a bar of chocolate, it is still having an effect on the way you look at things. Next time you see a large gorilla that looks like the one from the advert, whether it be in a zoo or on the television, it may make you think back to the cadbury advert, which makes you think about chocolate, which may make you want to go and buy a bar to eat.
Another example from cadburys is the pouring milk/chocolate. Every time I see something that looks similar, pouring melted chocolate or milk from a jug, it reminds me of the cadbury logo which makes me thing about the chocolate and want to go and eat some!
Cadburys aren't the only ones that use these tactics, McDonalds use their golden arches, Domino's pizza use their domino's, Kellogg's cereal use the cockerel, there are lots of brands out there who send both literal and abstract messages into our minds without us even realising.
The idea that our minds take these subjects and basically use them as recognition for the brand/food type makes me wonder, has the damage already been done on children's minds? If I, at 21, without even realising it until now, relate certain objects back to food types and brands, what damage is being done to the children who are taking everything in? Children are watching more and more television, playing computer games, seeing advertisements all around them in different shapes and sizes. They are learning lots of new things and one of them is relating food to their logos/gimmicks. Even if we solved the problems we have with marketing to children, the damage could very well already be done as there is no going back once they have had it drilled into their minds.
McDonald's (1962) logo. (2008) Available at: http://goodlogo.com/extended.info/mcdonalds-logo-2465 (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
Domino's: Brands of the world. (2015) Available at: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logo/dominos (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
DM: Design Mantic. (28th October 2014) Available at: http://www.designmantic.com/blog/choose-colors-wisely-for-your-business/ (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
Glass & a Half Full Productions: we are fallon. (11th October 2011) Available at: http://www.fallon.co.uk/work/show/id/22 (Accessed: 16 September 2015).
Back onto the subject of subliminal messages, we may not always realise that we have been targeted through advertisers. For example, although the Cadbury advertisement with the gorilla playing the drums may not make you want to go and purchase a bar of chocolate, it is still having an effect on the way you look at things. Next time you see a large gorilla that looks like the one from the advert, whether it be in a zoo or on the television, it may make you think back to the cadbury advert, which makes you think about chocolate, which may make you want to go and buy a bar to eat.
Another example from cadburys is the pouring milk/chocolate. Every time I see something that looks similar, pouring melted chocolate or milk from a jug, it reminds me of the cadbury logo which makes me thing about the chocolate and want to go and eat some!
Cadburys aren't the only ones that use these tactics, McDonalds use their golden arches, Domino's pizza use their domino's, Kellogg's cereal use the cockerel, there are lots of brands out there who send both literal and abstract messages into our minds without us even realising.
The idea that our minds take these subjects and basically use them as recognition for the brand/food type makes me wonder, has the damage already been done on children's minds? If I, at 21, without even realising it until now, relate certain objects back to food types and brands, what damage is being done to the children who are taking everything in? Children are watching more and more television, playing computer games, seeing advertisements all around them in different shapes and sizes. They are learning lots of new things and one of them is relating food to their logos/gimmicks. Even if we solved the problems we have with marketing to children, the damage could very well already be done as there is no going back once they have had it drilled into their minds.
Survey: Insight into children's food habits and diets.
I have created a survey which is aimed at adults who do the food shopping for their families. I am sending the survey out to a wide range of families to find out the following information:
The
aim of this survey is to get an insight into the majority of
children's food habits and diets. I would like to know if healthy
food is overruling unhealthy food or if it's the other way around. I
would also like to know if the majority of children are asking for
the foods they eat or if their parents have all the say in what they
eat. I would like to find out if there is a difference between how
children eat compared to how their parents ate when they were the
same age. Finally, I would like an insight into what it is that makes
children want to eat the foods that they are asking for.
- When shopping with your children, do they ask you to purchase certain foods for them?
Yes, most of the time.
Occasionally, they sometimes ask for certain things.
No, my children do not ask me to purchase certain products.
- If you answered Yes or Occasionally to question 1, do the foods your children ask for tend to be healthy options or unhealthier choices?
Healthy
Unhealthy
Both - Do you purchase the foods that your children ask for?
Yes, I purchase the foods which my children ask me for.
Sometimes, I compromise and purchase certain foods which they ask for but not everything.
No, I purchase foods which I personally think are most appropriate. - Has a television advertisement ever made your children ask for a certain food product?
Yes, TV adverts have had an impact on my children wanting a certain food product.
No, TV adverts have never had an impact on whether my children want a certain food or not. - Are your children more likely to want a certain food because it uses a certain character on the packaging/advertisements?
Yes, if the packaging features a character they like then they are more likely to want that food, regardless of the type of food.
Sometimes, foods featuring their favourite characters makes them more likely to want it, but it depends what type of food it is.
No, the characters on the packaging has no impact on whether or not they want that particular food.
- Which of the following is most likely to make your children want to eat a certain food (you may select more than 1 if necessary):
A television advertisement.
The packaging of the product.
A free giveaway (e.g a free toy).
The taste of the food.
The appearance of the food.
Because it is good for them.
- If you make a packed lunch for your children, which of the following items are more likely to get eaten?
Sandwiches
Fruits
Snacks e.g. Crisps, Chocolate, Biscuits etc.
- If your children had a choice whether they could eat a piece of fruit or have a sugary snack such as a chocolate bar, which would they be more likely to choose?
A piece of fruit, my children favour fruit snacks over sugary snacks.
A sugary snack, my children favour sugary snacks compared to fruit.
It depends, sometimes they would choose the fruit, other times they would choose the chocolate bar.
- Do your children's diets differ to yours when you were their age?
No, my children's diets are almost the same as mine when I was their age.
Yes, I used to eat a much healthier, balanced diet.
Yes, I didn't have as healthy a diet as what my children have.
- What are the ages of your children?
0-3 years
3-6 years
6-10 years
10-13 years
13-18 yearsI will post the results along with a conclusion once the surveys have been completed by at least 30 different families.
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Examples of Hidden Messages.
References: 20 Sneakiest Hidden Messages in Advertising. (June 24 2014) Available at: http://whatculture.com/offbeat/20-sneakiest-hidden-messages-advertising.php/4 (Accessed: 10th September 2015).
11 Hidden Messages in Food Ads and Logos. (July 30 2010) Available at: http://www.11points.com/Food-Drink/11_Hidden_Messages_In_Food_Ads_and_Logos (Accessed: 10th September 2015).
Here are some examples of hidden messages in food advertisements, they aren't always intentional or intended to be harmful towards people. Sometimes they are just there for fun and are totally harmless, other times they are trying to tell us something subliminally. These are not advertisements aimed towards children, but they do give good examples of the kind of hidden messages that can be put into ads.
I think this Burger King advertisement is pretty self explanatory. It is a good example of how sometimes, these messages are not subtle in the slightest.
This KFC burger advertisement plays on the fact that it costs just under a dollar and has a dollar bill hidden within the lettuce.
If you look closely at the mountain on this toblerone logo, you see a bear hidden within the white space.
Subliminal Messages.
References: Vargas, E. (no date) Subliminal Messages and Children. Available at: http://subliminalmessag.weebly.com/ester-vargas.html (Accessed: 10th September 2015).
Subliminal messages have been used in the media for many years. In the dictionary, subliminal has a meaning of “being or employing stimuli insufficiently intense to produce a discrete sensation but often being or designed to be intense enough to influence the mental processes or the behavior of the individual,” (http://dictionary.reference.com/).
A webpage I came across talks about subliminal messages and their effect on children.
One point which really made me think was 'Children learn to speak through the words being spoken by the people around them and what they see eventually influences them to act and be a certain way. Humans can be affected by the events that happen in their lives and be persuaded easily even with the simplest thing. Nowadays, television has been part of our lives from morning to night and even if accepted or not, television has affected us one way or another.'
It is quite shocking when you think about how much of an impact the television can have on the upbringing of your child. Yes, they are a great tool for leaning and picking things up much quicker, a lot of young people around me who watch a lot of children's TV are really quite intelligent for their age. The big problem is when it starts to have a negative impact on them. How easy is it to make a child believe that a particular brand of food is the most amazing thing that could ever happen to them? The same food which could have huge negative implications on their future. Televisions are in almost every bodies homes and children are being exposed to them more and more as time goes by. Subliminal messages are used in almost everything we see on the television and could even be brainwashing children into believing all kinds that you wouldn't even consider possible.
Referring back to previous posts, this is another reason why advertising to children should be monitored much more!
'Advertisers have used every resource they have to become “persuasion masters” and find a way to insert their messages in to peoples’ mind, knowing that information will stay and that everyone falls for it. Subliminal messages are directed to everyone, but the easiest targets are children. Children start watching television and listening to the radio from a young age. What parents do not know is that they are exposing their children to subliminal messages. Advertisers are not the only ones that use these types of influences, so do programs like cartoons and shows.'
Subliminal messages are everywhere. An interesting point that this webpage brought up was that not only do the messaged target children, they also target parents into believing that the programmes their children are watching are good for them.
'marketing is targeted toward the children to keep watching, but the subliminal messages are for the adults making them think that the cartoons their children are watching are good when in reality they are not.'
The article then goes on to talk about how it's not just advertisements and cartoons which are targeting children, but also movies—even disney! It brings up some interesting research that shows just how much of an impact these little details have. From making children less sensitive to the pain and suffering to others to making them more likely to become aggressive and use harmful actions towards others.
'Over the years subliminal messages have been used making humans have a sense of familiarity of things that they never thought had any relationship with them. However, what some do not realize is that this sense of familiarity is affecting them more than just wasting their money. Subliminal messages have made people victims psychologically and physically. Children’s behavior has changed by the type of things being watched in television and have had a false sense of reality due to the communications gathered from the programs watched in TV. Parents need to be more aware of what their kids watch because the effect they might suffer from the subliminal messages being displayed might harm them in many different ways. Not every program shown in television has subliminal messages so it only takes a little bit of time and a well trained eye to see if what you are watching is trying to tell you something else.'
Although this webpage focuses more on the violent affects of subliminal messages in cartoons and film, it brings to my attention just how much of an impact these messages can have. Tempting children into eating a certain type of food seems like nothing compared to making them more likely to go out and hurt someone but the seemingly innocent actions of these companies could just be the cause of the rise in childhood obesity or eating disorders!
Subliminal messages have been used in the media for many years. In the dictionary, subliminal has a meaning of “being or employing stimuli insufficiently intense to produce a discrete sensation but often being or designed to be intense enough to influence the mental processes or the behavior of the individual,” (http://dictionary.reference.com/).
A webpage I came across talks about subliminal messages and their effect on children.
One point which really made me think was 'Children learn to speak through the words being spoken by the people around them and what they see eventually influences them to act and be a certain way. Humans can be affected by the events that happen in their lives and be persuaded easily even with the simplest thing. Nowadays, television has been part of our lives from morning to night and even if accepted or not, television has affected us one way or another.'
It is quite shocking when you think about how much of an impact the television can have on the upbringing of your child. Yes, they are a great tool for leaning and picking things up much quicker, a lot of young people around me who watch a lot of children's TV are really quite intelligent for their age. The big problem is when it starts to have a negative impact on them. How easy is it to make a child believe that a particular brand of food is the most amazing thing that could ever happen to them? The same food which could have huge negative implications on their future. Televisions are in almost every bodies homes and children are being exposed to them more and more as time goes by. Subliminal messages are used in almost everything we see on the television and could even be brainwashing children into believing all kinds that you wouldn't even consider possible.
Referring back to previous posts, this is another reason why advertising to children should be monitored much more!
'Advertisers have used every resource they have to become “persuasion masters” and find a way to insert their messages in to peoples’ mind, knowing that information will stay and that everyone falls for it. Subliminal messages are directed to everyone, but the easiest targets are children. Children start watching television and listening to the radio from a young age. What parents do not know is that they are exposing their children to subliminal messages. Advertisers are not the only ones that use these types of influences, so do programs like cartoons and shows.'
Subliminal messages are everywhere. An interesting point that this webpage brought up was that not only do the messaged target children, they also target parents into believing that the programmes their children are watching are good for them.
'marketing is targeted toward the children to keep watching, but the subliminal messages are for the adults making them think that the cartoons their children are watching are good when in reality they are not.'
The article then goes on to talk about how it's not just advertisements and cartoons which are targeting children, but also movies—even disney! It brings up some interesting research that shows just how much of an impact these little details have. From making children less sensitive to the pain and suffering to others to making them more likely to become aggressive and use harmful actions towards others.
'Over the years subliminal messages have been used making humans have a sense of familiarity of things that they never thought had any relationship with them. However, what some do not realize is that this sense of familiarity is affecting them more than just wasting their money. Subliminal messages have made people victims psychologically and physically. Children’s behavior has changed by the type of things being watched in television and have had a false sense of reality due to the communications gathered from the programs watched in TV. Parents need to be more aware of what their kids watch because the effect they might suffer from the subliminal messages being displayed might harm them in many different ways. Not every program shown in television has subliminal messages so it only takes a little bit of time and a well trained eye to see if what you are watching is trying to tell you something else.'
Although this webpage focuses more on the violent affects of subliminal messages in cartoons and film, it brings to my attention just how much of an impact these messages can have. Tempting children into eating a certain type of food seems like nothing compared to making them more likely to go out and hurt someone but the seemingly innocent actions of these companies could just be the cause of the rise in childhood obesity or eating disorders!
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