"Stealth Marketing to Manipulate Children's Habits" - Dr. Mercola

“Consuming Kids” (documentary film) Reveals Shocking Tactics Used to Manipulate Your Children’s Preferences and Habits

June 08, 2013

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/08/children-marketing.aspx?e_cid=20130608_PRNL_art_2&utm_source=prmrnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20130608

 

 

Story at-a-glance

• America’s 52 million kids under the age of 12 represent one of the most powerful markets for American businesses, influencing adult spending worth $700 billion a year
• The documentary Consuming Kids reveals the shrewd practices of the multi-billion dollar marketing machine designed to turn your kids into loyal, lifelong consumers who will also influence how the entire family spends its money
• Before deregulating children’s TV marketing, children’s spending rose an average of four percent per year. After deregulation, children’s spending skyrocketed to 35 percent per year
• Children age 2-11 now see an average of more than 10 television food ads per day. Ninety-eight percent of food advertisements viewed by children are for products that are high in fat, sugar or sodium. Most are also low in fiber
• A classic example of this deceptive manipulation is Coca-Cola’s new ad campaign which focuses on the mistaken belief that beating obesity is a matter of counting calories, even though this theory has been found to be patently false

"...So please, do yourself and your family a huge favor, and don’t allow yourself to get swept up in Coca-Cola’s multi-million dollar ad extravaganza. The entire campaign is based on flawed, inaccurate, misleading, and patently false conventions of thinking.

"As for all the other marketing, which runs the gamut from toys to clothing brands, electronics, and even cars and financial services, the best defense is perhaps to be aware that it’s happening. To combat the influence of marketing of all kinds, I’d advise you to limit the amount of time your child spends watching TV and surfing the web. Children under the age of three should not be watching any TV at all, as this is a crucial time of rapid brain development in which your child’s brain is shaped in response to whatever they’re exposed to..."