Last night, with my brother over to
visit, we settled in to watch some TV and ended up watching a pretty
insane Not-Reality show called "The Joe Schmo Show" on the SPIKE
Network. I rarely watch TV in real time, opting for online shows that
are screened commercial free, found on Netflix and other websites. As a
new Vegan, I am more aware of the amount of fast food, particularly
meat pushing, ads on television. I was so overwhelmed to see that SPIKE
Network's target audience is getting almost wall to wall fast food ads,
and most of those (if not all) are pushing the meat.
I am a new Vegan, so I never really thought about the "what" of food advertising, more just aware that it was there, and that often the sight of a gooey stringy cheesy pizza was enough to have me reaching for the phone, even near 3am, when the last local delivery chain shut down for the night. But during almost every commercial break, I saw ads for McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, a steak house (or maybe it was Applebee's or similar, all I saw was the hunk of meat in full frame), and others. So much fried food, so little vegetable representation, even potatoes seemed absent. Is it any wonder why Americans and Canadians are eating meat at almost every meal?
I know that these ads triggered me, I had to keep reminding myself that none of the above were in line with my new choice in diet and lifestyle, but even doing that I still could almost smell the fried chicken, I was almost salivating for the meat I have decided to cut out of my diet. It makes you wonder why this is allowed to go on. If government health agencies are sounding the alarm on Obesity, and they almost all are, then why is this sort of advertising allowed. I don't mean to say that these "restaurants" should not have the right to advertise, but shouldn't the block of advertising between segments of shows be split up to minimize the number of back to back food ads?
Think about it, what if there was a law that said that for every food establishment advertising, there had to be a commercial for almost anything else, particularly a healthy alternative. Show me a KFC ad if you will, but then I want to see an ad for a great vacation spot. If you are going to show me a giant grilled hunk of steak, maybe the next add should be for a new car, a health product, a new appliance for my kitchen, a mattress, a vacuum, a new show coming soon, a film, almost anything but yet another food ad.
I think the answer why is pretty clear, it's all about the Money. Ad time is sold to whomever can afford it, and the fast food giants have it in their mission critical to find their target audiences and hammer away at them. SPIKE's audience is primarily men, young men aged 18-30 particularly. So they are the ones with the disposable income, possibly living alone or with a roommate, likely unmarried, and a prime target for fast take-out food. Make it look manly with a football game in the background, lots of friends and a bevvy of cute babes, and a huge bucket of KFC looks perfect in any Man Cave. And those buckets keep getting bigger and bigger, and the bones in the meat seem to be disappearing, making it easier to just gobble it all up without even watching out for the bones.
This is not a Vegan issue, it is an everyone issue. Every channel does it to some degree. Watch Dr. Phil on any weekday and you will be advertised all manner of Special K creations, diet yogurts, microwave "low fat and calorie" meals, and healthy snacks - all with some fabulously healthy looking model dancing in her kitchen, or taking on the office jungle, or dancing down the street like a loony bin escapee.
More frightening are ads for "5 Hour Energy" and other wake-up products. Face it, if you need a 5 hour energy to get your day started, you are not eating well, not sleeping well, or not healthy enough to power yourself through a day. Not to mention the link between this product in particular and several hospital admissions and worse.
So do we have a choice? I guess that is the ultimate question. We know it isn't just adults that get this sort of "special" advertising attention, kids are bombarded too. Is it any wonder we are among the most Obese nations on the planet.
I find watching my TV on the PC helps, no commercials, no temptations, no worries. I am not going to be anyone's captive audience if I can help it. The more people keeping the TV off and going elsewhere for their TV content the better, it will send a message that we don't want that kind of advertising on television.
Cigarette ads went the way of the Dodo bird years ago, and ads for alcoholic beverages are shown only on Cable channels or after hours, when kids are in bed. Why? Because we know that these things can be harmful if misused, or used at all in some cases, so they are limited in their sponsorship and advertising opportunities. So why is food any different, fast food in particular. Obesity related health problems kill more Americans that smoking, alcohol, and car accidents combined. Shouldn't we demand that these ads are also kept in check, allowing other items to take their place or just limiting the numbers. What would that fight look like in the press, the courts, the government.
If you don't have access to online content, I suggest dropping the volume, standing up each commercial break and going for a little wander around your home, maybe tidying things a bit, or stretching and walking in place for a bit. Don't fall for the trap they are setting, we are all stronger than that, we just have to recognize that the ad is the trigger, and what you do next is what really matters.
 |
| Applebee's 500 Steak Ad - January 2013 |
I am a new Vegan, so I never really thought about the "what" of food advertising, more just aware that it was there, and that often the sight of a gooey stringy cheesy pizza was enough to have me reaching for the phone, even near 3am, when the last local delivery chain shut down for the night. But during almost every commercial break, I saw ads for McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, a steak house (or maybe it was Applebee's or similar, all I saw was the hunk of meat in full frame), and others. So much fried food, so little vegetable representation, even potatoes seemed absent. Is it any wonder why Americans and Canadians are eating meat at almost every meal?
 |
| KFC Gameday Bucket Ad - January 2013 |
I know that these ads triggered me, I had to keep reminding myself that none of the above were in line with my new choice in diet and lifestyle, but even doing that I still could almost smell the fried chicken, I was almost salivating for the meat I have decided to cut out of my diet. It makes you wonder why this is allowed to go on. If government health agencies are sounding the alarm on Obesity, and they almost all are, then why is this sort of advertising allowed. I don't mean to say that these "restaurants" should not have the right to advertise, but shouldn't the block of advertising between segments of shows be split up to minimize the number of back to back food ads?
Think about it, what if there was a law that said that for every food establishment advertising, there had to be a commercial for almost anything else, particularly a healthy alternative. Show me a KFC ad if you will, but then I want to see an ad for a great vacation spot. If you are going to show me a giant grilled hunk of steak, maybe the next add should be for a new car, a health product, a new appliance for my kitchen, a mattress, a vacuum, a new show coming soon, a film, almost anything but yet another food ad.
 |
| McDonalds Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger - January 2013 |
I think the answer why is pretty clear, it's all about the Money. Ad time is sold to whomever can afford it, and the fast food giants have it in their mission critical to find their target audiences and hammer away at them. SPIKE's audience is primarily men, young men aged 18-30 particularly. So they are the ones with the disposable income, possibly living alone or with a roommate, likely unmarried, and a prime target for fast take-out food. Make it look manly with a football game in the background, lots of friends and a bevvy of cute babes, and a huge bucket of KFC looks perfect in any Man Cave. And those buckets keep getting bigger and bigger, and the bones in the meat seem to be disappearing, making it easier to just gobble it all up without even watching out for the bones.
This is not a Vegan issue, it is an everyone issue. Every channel does it to some degree. Watch Dr. Phil on any weekday and you will be advertised all manner of Special K creations, diet yogurts, microwave "low fat and calorie" meals, and healthy snacks - all with some fabulously healthy looking model dancing in her kitchen, or taking on the office jungle, or dancing down the street like a loony bin escapee.
More frightening are ads for "5 Hour Energy" and other wake-up products. Face it, if you need a 5 hour energy to get your day started, you are not eating well, not sleeping well, or not healthy enough to power yourself through a day. Not to mention the link between this product in particular and several hospital admissions and worse.
So do we have a choice? I guess that is the ultimate question. We know it isn't just adults that get this sort of "special" advertising attention, kids are bombarded too. Is it any wonder we are among the most Obese nations on the planet.
I find watching my TV on the PC helps, no commercials, no temptations, no worries. I am not going to be anyone's captive audience if I can help it. The more people keeping the TV off and going elsewhere for their TV content the better, it will send a message that we don't want that kind of advertising on television.
Cigarette ads went the way of the Dodo bird years ago, and ads for alcoholic beverages are shown only on Cable channels or after hours, when kids are in bed. Why? Because we know that these things can be harmful if misused, or used at all in some cases, so they are limited in their sponsorship and advertising opportunities. So why is food any different, fast food in particular. Obesity related health problems kill more Americans that smoking, alcohol, and car accidents combined. Shouldn't we demand that these ads are also kept in check, allowing other items to take their place or just limiting the numbers. What would that fight look like in the press, the courts, the government.
If you don't have access to online content, I suggest dropping the volume, standing up each commercial break and going for a little wander around your home, maybe tidying things a bit, or stretching and walking in place for a bit. Don't fall for the trap they are setting, we are all stronger than that, we just have to recognize that the ad is the trigger, and what you do next is what really matters.
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