Most of my classes dismiss Schlosser's concerns this chapter, arguing that they can resist advertising, so it's fine for companies to advertise in schools.
MAKING SURE TO CITE AND EXPLORE THE TEXT, what do you think?
For those of you who took 101 with me, you might even draw some analogies to *Feed* if you'd like.
“And their success led many others to aim marketing efforts at kids, turning America’s youngest consumers into a demographic group that is now avidly studied, analyzed, and targeted by the world’s largest corporation” (Schlosser 34). This was the first quote that jumped out at me while I was reading. When I was in high school we had Coke machines on every hall, and every classroom had a calendar that was given out by Coke. There were days that I felt exactly like the teenager at Greenbrier, all I wanted to do was step up and promote a different brand of soda. “His act of defiance soon received nationwide publicity, as did the fact that he was immediately suspended from school” (55). The student was suspended only because the school was getting funding for different programs from Coke. I think if they had not been getting as much funding, the principal would have seen it as a funny little joke and not made a big deal about it. I think this also goes to the fact that all of this was on the news, and this one outburst could make the school look bad. I am very surprised that there are not more outbursts like this every day. As a student studying to become a teacher, it is very hard for me to be okay with the idea of advertising in schools. I do not think that it is a good idea to advertise any products at a school. I know that many people see children as the perfect people to advertise to, but I think it is just asking for trouble when you advertise to children. “Influencing elementary school students is very important to soft drink makers,’ an article in the January 1999 issue of Beverage Industry explained, ‘because children are still establishing their tastes and habits’” (54). Children should not be put into a position where all they see are advertisements that are not necessarily good for them to see.
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Here's a report on the food and beverage industry's influence on the federally funded school lunch program:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVfAWbitBTs
This comes from the American News Project, which I found after visiting their website, is affiliated with the left-leaning Huffington Post. Just like it's always good to know where your food is coming from, it's good to know where your news is coming from.
It's also good to know what corporations are behind the news you receive. Look up the corporate holdings of CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox to see just how wide the corporate interests of these news giants are spread.
“In 1993, District 11 in Colorado Springs started a nationwide trend, becoming the first public school district in the United States to place adds for Burger King in its hallways and on the sides of its school buses” Schlosser writes, indicating the start of a trend that would continue to spread amongst public school systems to this very day (Schlosser 51). The opponents of this trend argue that “children are becoming a captive audience for marketers, compelled by the law to attend school and then forced to look at ads as means of paying for their own education” (52). Some may argue that children can resist advertising, and would pay little heed to the work of marketers. However, there are some factors associated with in-school marketing that actually do affect children. For example, “a survey conducted found that 96 percent of children recognize Ronald McDonald” (4). When this sort of figure is so prominently displayed in a place where children spend the majority of their day, it would be rather hard for them not to notice it. Young children cannot discern the fact that marketers simply want their, or their parents, money. The power of advertisements is not simply limited to fast food chains; beverage companies, such as Coca-Cola have “become the official supplier of drinks in school district around the United States” (51). This kind of advertising presents a problem to parents and some school officials who would rather their children partake in healthier drinks and food. Although “fruit juices, teas, and bottled water” are being sold in the same vending machines, it is hard for a child to pass up a soft drink when they are being so heavily advertised in school (57). When a school is subjected to marketing tactics such as the event where “the school population spelled out the word “Coke” in the parking lot in 1998 at Greenbrier High School, in Evans, Georgia”, it is rather hard for a student to then pass up a Coke being sold in the same school (55). Though some may continue to argue that students can resist advertising, it is most certainly harder to do when the school has a multitude of fast food and beverage company advertisements plastered amongst its walls and buses. (Word Count 383).
ReplyDeleteIn Eric Schlosser’s novel Fast Food Nation, the concept of marketing to children becomes a heated topic. In the way that Schlosser addresses the topic, one would assume that it is the worst technique of advertising on the face of the earth with little morals and highly inappropriate. While it does seem a bit unfair to market to those who do not understand the thought and marketing that goes into each advertisement, it does seem logical. “’Brand loyalty’” that is created at a young age does further the sales in a company (Schlosser 43). Companies are in the business of making money. They do not have the moral obligation to only target those above the age of 18. In the case of McDonalds, the average middle-class person is not going to want to eat a fatty and cholesterol filled burger and fries every day of their life, but a child is far less concerned with these worries. A child simply sees “bright colors, a playground, a toy, a clown, a drink with a straw, [and] little pieces of food wrapped up like a present” (42). A business in its need to make money will focus their advertising power on the audience that they feel will be the easiest to market successfully to. A company would not waist their time advertising to people who they know will be more reluctant to purchase their product no matter how amazing their ad campaign would be. Schlosser attempts to put a negative light on the business of marketing to children because of its morals but in so ignores the common sense behind the counter argument. Should companies be punished for trying to make their business more successful? If it were not a massive corporation would that change any of Schlosser’s arguments? It is doubtful.
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How can we go back to the way things were when fast food restaurants weren’t controlling all aspects of life?
ReplyDeleteIs this bombardment of fast food in our lives the culprit of American childhood obesity?
In reading this I feel like this constant bombardment from the fast food nations in America is the reason that our children are statistically obese. Our children from a young age are exposed to advertisements that encourage them to go to these fast food restaurants to eat and play. McDonalds has turned the eating experience into a multi-experience by adding in a playground setting. Parents can kill two birds with one stone as the saying goes. Schlosser makes one main point about Kroc’s business mentality. Kroc “understood that how he sold food was just as important as how the food tasted. He liked to tell people that he was really in show business, not the restaurant business” (Fast Food Nation 41). Sad but true, our society is based more on show. We know that fast food is bad for us but we are shown flashy advertisements that encourage us to stop by and get the “fast” food and service that our fast paced society craves. Statistics show that “outside of school, the typical American child spends more time watching television than doing any other activity except sleeping” (46). This is horrible because that means for most of the child’s waking hours they are exposed to fast food advertising. Obviously from watching the television but also from schools that partner up with corporations to get money. For some of the schools because of “spiraling [costs] of textbooks has led thousands of American school districts to use corporate-sponsored teaching materials. A 1998 study of these teaching materials by the Consumer Union found that 80 percent were biased, providing the students with incomplete or slanted information that favored the sponsor’s products and views” (55). These students are already attending schools that are in dire need of money, hence their need to partner up with corporations, and now they are being taught slanted information in favor of the corporations the schools are partnered up with. The kids are never going to have a chance.
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How does controlling the youth make for good business?
ReplyDeleteIs it morally wrong for corporations to prey on low-budget schools?
In this chapter is discussed the prevalence of manipulation of the mind of children in order to establish a long-lasting, money making empire, such as McDonald’s or Disney. Ray Kroc establishes the McDonald’s empire, and Disney establishes the Disney empire. When one looks closely at the methods behind such successful “empires,” it is apparent that Kroc and Disney understood that starting with the children is the way to go. Creating a generation of youth that love certain products will continue that love for products through the consumers’ children. Also, creating an environment where the consumer feels as if they have escaped the real world is shown to entice consumers and make them faithful customers. The children become completely dependent on popular culture’s fast food industries, and the children function as systems of the fast food.
With a connection to Savage Inequalities, low funded schools do not have the luxury of not needing money from outside sources, and they are forced to look elsewhere for money to provide the students with a semi-desirable education. Schools, such as the one in the abandoned skating rink, are so under budgeted that any legal opportunities for money are taken. Fast food companies pay to advertise “in school hallways and on the side of [their] buses (51). This creates a better learning environment in the school, but the children’s physical health is jeopardized. Fast food companies are aware that constant exposure leads to faithful customers. Seeing a sign in the hallway for McDonald’s when a student is hungry typically leads to a trip to McDonald’s after school. Wealthy schools, such as New Trier High, are not dependent on such money, so their students need not be battered with advertisements of unhealthy foods, which typically lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as “Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper, which contain empty calories” 54). The advertisements serve to do what Disney and Kroc intended- manipulate the children’s minds to like a product. The rest is smooth sailing. Like in the first chapter, fast food businesses incorporate themselves not only into the individual but into the way a society thinks and functions.
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This is truly an eye opening world that Schlosser discusses in “Fast Food Nation”. If I only had one word to describe this society within a society, I would call it simply cutthroat. These businesses, such as McDonald’s and Disneyland, will do anything to make a profit even if it means targeting the innocent and those unable to comprehend what’s going on. Disney once said, “ it’s the law of the universe that the strong shall survive and the weak must fall by the way, and I don’t give a damn what idealistic plan is cooked up, nothing can change that” (Schlosser 37). Walt has a Hobbsian view of the world. It’s simply every man for himself, ironically this is the same man responsible to delivering happiness and entertainment to our multiple generations. One interesting topic covered by Schlosser was how large beverage corporations with the help of Dan DeRose began funding school districts. Initially this seems like a very ideal relationship in which both the school and the corporation profit. DeRose states, “In Kansas City they were getting 67 cents a kid before and now they’re getting $27” (Schlosser 53). DeRose multiplied these schools income substantially. To the outsider, it would seem that DeRose has solved the economic and funding problems faced by many schools. The loophole within the contract was not openly stated by DeRose in the flashy $11 million dollar offer. According to the contract, “school district 11 was obligated to sell at least seventy thousand cases of Coca-Cola products a year, within the first three years of the contract, or it would face reduced payments by Coke. This shows us again how much of a cutthroat world is out there. Coke wanted to appear that it was truly interested in helping schools, when in fact they were only interested in reaching the target market from another point of entry. If we were to allow other companies to help those schools that Kozol discussed in “Savage Inequalities” would they do the same thing? How can we assure that these companies will not take advantage of the schools as Coke has done? This leads to another ethical question. Is this truly wrong? Are they performing an illegality?
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With the intentional focus on children by the advertising industry, as described by Eric Schlosser in his book Fast Food Nation, one must wonder what signals this sends to the children being hounded with regard to their value in society. If someone was being completely optimistic about the intentions of the fast food industry, it may be perceived that the companies are trying to develop what children want, to give an outlet of expression to kids through food and include their imagination into a beacon of American culture. The fact of the matter, however, is that fast food companies are looking to “increase not just current, but also future, consumption” (Schlosser 43). The objective is to “[get] children to see a firm…in much the same way as [they see] mom and dad, grandma or grandpa” (44) says James McNeal, a marketing professor at Texas A&M University. By targeting children, these companies are shifting their view of them as people, as innocent people with nothing but potential, and transforming them into parts of a machine, one that functions only to produce bottom line figures and top-dollar production. By going so far as to “[classify] juvenile nagging tactics” (44), people like McNeal are providing the fast food industry with the tools needed to exploit “the fantasy lives of young children” (44) to “bring in children, who bring in parents, who bring in money” (47). The problem this causes is in the development of “brand loyalty” (43). If children come to trust brands, as the companies would hope they would, then they are learning to follow the directions of big business and are not encouraged to develop a discerning mind as it applies to the industry. Two potential problems later in life with this level of involvement with the industry are either a total, blind trust of a company at the expense of their health or bitterness against industry in general due to a feeling of being manipulated. Neither scenario is encouraging to the development of a person, especially with exposure happening to early in life.
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Do the schools who receive aid from fast food and beverage giants lose more than they are gaining?
How do programs, like Pizza Hut’s Book It, really harm children?
Let us begin with the association of patriotism and corporations. Immediately, in chapter two, Schlosser introduces the reader to the McStore, where one can purchase various sundry items, including "t-shirts decorated with the new version of the American flag. The fifty white stares have been replaced by a pair of golden arches" (Schlosser 31-32). While I am quite glad that they did not have actual flags that boasted this bastardized image, the idea that one would immediately see a logo on a highly respected flag, the first thing that they would assume would be that the individual wearing the shirt was attempting to be patriotic. However, they would notice the golden arches, and begin to associate the two together, regardless of whether or not they agree with what was done or disagree with it. A similar image is given in M.T. Anderson's Feed, where one of the 'commercials' states, "Hostess M's American Family Restaurants. Where time seems to stop while you chew®" (Anderson 16). The advertising lends itself to the views one would feel about America, and associate it with the restaurant. To expand on Kroc's business, the franchise agreement "required every new restaurant to fly the Stars and Stripes. Kroc understood how he sold food was just as important as how the food tasted" (Schlosser 41). If one was presented with the snap-decision as to what fast food restaurant to choose, and was presumably American, what would keep him/her from choosing the location flying the American flag over a location that was not?
ReplyDeleteWhen Titus and Violet are beginning to know each other, in Feed, Violet mentions, "hear that? The music?...They have charts that show which chords are most thumbs-up. Music is marketing. They have lists of key changes that get thirteen-year-old girls screaming. There's no difference between a song and an advertising jingle anymore. Songs are their own jingles" (Anderson 101). Schlosser speaks of a similar situation with marketing, where "[McDonalds] evoked a series of pleasing images in a youngster's mind: bright colors, a playground, a toy, a clown, a drink with a straw, little pieces of food wrapped like a present" (Schlosser 42). The characteristics that most appeal to those of a younger age are utilized in the corporation's marketing. It is explained that, once a child is convinced to have a product, the child will convince his/her parents to purchase the product. Anderson's novel goes a step further to give the children their own bank accounts, where all the parents have to do is put money in it, and the child can purchase the product on impulse. It is the impulse that the company's count on when it comes to such advertising.
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Without consistent regulation of advertising, will America become the America found in Feed?
Do advertisements teach one to become an impulsive individual?
I find it somewhat ironic that somebody like Walt Disney or Ray Kroc, who spent so much of their time trying to appeal to children, could have acted so horribly toward their co-workers. There are rumors about Disney that demonstrate his “colorful” behavior, such as him being anti-Semitic and having suggestive content in his films. I, personally, don’t believe that he was racist against the Jews, but I cannot help but wonder about how he really was. If I had been around in the ‘50s with children, I am not sure if I would have let my children watch those cartoons and movies. Perhaps for that time it was normal to be paranoid over Communist invading the country, but to take it to the point to where one would accuse the members of the Screen Cartoonists Guild seems like too much (36). It’s strange to think that someone who created the most successful children’s entertainment seems so radical and wouldn’t even place his friend’s restaurant in his park over a lousy nickel.
ReplyDeleteKroc is not off the hook. Just because he was not accusing people left and right of being Communist does not mean he did not have his hand in political affairs. If it wasn’t for the insanely generous “gift” to President Nixon for his campaigning, Nixon might not have been reelected. To me, $250,000 is not a gift, it’s a bribe. A very subtle one; it’s no surprise that the Nixon administration supported the rise in price of the Quarter Pounder, regardless of the fact that it was against regulations (37). Now we live in a nation where McDonald’s now seems to have its hands in every bit of sales, yet not so much that it could be considered a monopoly. It is not so bad that you can walk into a Wal-Mart and see an entire row or two full of McDonald’s merchandise. Still, talk about cutthroat business.
Do you think that Disney’s great run in children’s entertainment is beginning to slow down, or that it is still going strong?
It is true that Disney and McDonald’s have greatly influenced the world, somewhat helping make things better, but are they doing more harm than help?
I would definitely agree with the fact that humans are pretty gullible or at least manipulative enough to where when someone becomes really convincing, people become more prone to be convinced against what they originally think. When Ray Kroc states “and sell them a sundae when what they’d come for was a cup of coffee,” he refers to the same idea, but when that same idea is combined with mass advertisement across a nation, the effects would be much greater (Schlosser 34). McDonald’s commercials or advertisements are nearly everywhere in the marketplace, especially for children: the internet, television, billboards, giant signs at major intersections, exit signs, toys, clothes, bags, accessories, and much more (Schlosser 31). However, from the looks of Ray Kroc’s experience of traveling door to door where “countless doors slammed in his face,” it seems to be an example of the “American Way” which Kroc claims is actually “the American Way of survival of the fittest” (Schlosser 37). But when does capitalism go too far in expressing advertisements or selling, and is “the american way of survival of the fittest” really the american way America believes in? When confronted by his employees about working conditions, Walt Disney “fired employees who were sympathetic to the union, allowed private guards to rough up workers on the picket line, tried to impose a phony company union, brought in an organized crime figure from Chicago to rig a settlement, and placed a full-page ad in Variety that accused leaders of the Screen Cartoonists Guild of being Communists” yet when it’s to Mr. Disney’s benefit, the man hired Wernher von Brahn, a former rocket scientist of the Nazi party, to work on his Tomorrowland project (Schlosser 38). When capitalism goes beyond the bounds of laws set “by the people, for the people” that harms citizens, then I believe that the cut throat “American Way” Ray Kroc describes is not so much of an american way as it is a hand in greed and lust that has taken hold of much of the American market (Gettysburg Address). It can even be clearly seen how manipulation not only takes control of consumers through advertisement, but even in the american government when Ray Kroc gave the Nixon campaign a sum of around $250,000 indirectly through various republican organizations (Schlosser 37). The money he gave them definitely influenced the “McDonald’s Bill” passed through congress which allowed McDonald’s only, to pay its underage workers 20% less than minimum wage, a wage meant to be “for the people” (Schlosser 37). word count: 423
ReplyDelete1. What would be America’s ideal “American Way” based on the rights of the constitution with or against fundamental American beliefs?
2. How do you draw the line in a capitalistic society where, natural centralized organizations, such as unions, appear to help the “common” man?
Are the entrepreneurs like Kroc and Disney essentially “brain wash” their customers and if so, how? (This begs the question, why are we so easily manipulated, like the characters in Anderson's Feed?)
ReplyDeleteShould these techniques have limits on content, persuasion techniques, or intended audience? Where does justice come into play in the big corporate world?
Where to even start with this section…I began slightly disturbed, became more disturbed, and ended very disturbed. It occurred to me that these million- and billionaires are no less than using kids to gain riches. Schlosser says that Walt Disney and Ray Kroc “perfected the art of selling things to children…turning America’s youngest consumers into a demographic group that is now vividly studied, analyzed, and targeted by the world’s largest corporations” (33-34). They realized that kids are some of the most easily persuaded customers in the world, drawn in by colors, playgrounds, fictional characters, and the sense of having fun. Of course, the kids must get there somehow so they unknowingly bring in more customers simply from the necessity of parental supervision; Kroc is even noted to have said that the child that loves McDonald’s brings in his parents for an extra two customers (41). To me, it is no different from predators singling out the young offspring in a herd because they are the easiest upon which to prey. They are weak and put up no struggle to the advertisement schemes of marketing agencies. Is this “fair”? Is this justice? Should we be letting people misinform our children, once making “nuclear fission seem fun, instead of terrifying” (39)? Should they have “unrivaled” (or even rivaled) “access to impressionable young minds,” already soft for molding (39)? Should Disney’s behavior towards strikes and labor unions be rewarded by his success (36)? How is it just if Kroc can afford to spend a quarter million dollars to gain the favor of those in political power so he can cut wages for particularly the young by more than a quarter an hour (37)? This just reminds me of how Kozol reported that funds specifically earmarked for poor schools ended up going to the wealthy schools because of politics involved. Now kids are “being targeted by phone companies” (at first I thought, “why does it matter—they don’t have phones” but now they do, too) “oil companies, automobile companies…clothing stores and restaurant chains” (42).
I think even McDonald’s decision to hire a new, “thinner” Ronald McDonald clown is a brain washing strategy employed by big corporations (41). One might assume that if one eats at McDonald’s, one won’t have to pay the health consequences (Ronald is skinny), and one will be happy (i.e., “Happy Meals”). The whole corporation itself is riddled with irony and contradictions. I remember in the documentary, Supersize Me, it took months to finally talk to somebody of power in the McDonald’s corporate chain; likewise, in the Kroc “shrine”, he wouldn’t take Schlosser’s questions, so he “just listened to the repeating speeches” (32, 33). Schlosser also states that “despite McDonald’s faith in trusted friends, the opening page of a memo” said civil or criminal prosecution would be pursued following unauthorized use (51). Are they really our friends, much less our trusted friends?
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What has made America into the corporate nation which capitalizes on fast food?
ReplyDeleteHow are Ray Kroc and Walt Disney alike in their ambition to succeed?
Fast Food nation is about how the advertisement and success of companies like McDonalds were a helping hand in the making of corporate America.Maybe because they dropped out of high school they were somehow able to utilize, to their advantage, their understanding of the nature and desires of children. They capitalized on this and “perfected the art in selling things to children” which also inspired other competing companies to try their luck in “turning America’s youngest consumers into a demographic group that is now avidly studied, analyzed, and targeted by the world’s largest corporations” (Eric Schlosser 33-34). But then again all it took was a “smile and enthusiasm” to convince and influence people into “[buying] bean-bag McBurglar dolls at McStore, telephones shaped like french fries…and much more, all of it bearing the stamp of Mcdonald’s”(Eric Schlosser 33, 31). Constant advertising and careful placement of Krocs business is what helped in making corporate America. It seems he looked to Disney as his role model seeing as Disney’s “success had come much more quickly” (Eric Schlosser 36). Ray Kroc even borrowed some of his doctrines in order “to outline his own political philosophy” (Eric Schlosser 37). This was soon deterred after receiving critiques when he attempted to support President Nixon in the slightest way. Though perhaps winning the hearts and minds of people is the trick into turning them into consumers. During World War II, Walt Disney produced “scores of military training and propaganda films…for audiences living in fear of nuclear annihilation” which “became a source of reassurance” (Eric Schlosser 38). But this is the corporate system, the “dog eat dog” system where people become consumers to mass advertisement( Eric Schlosser 37).
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My biggest issue with this section is the way companies appeal to the ignorance and innocence of children. The advertisers manipulate the child’s world, and expose him to harmful ideas at an early age so that he becomes desensitized. They want the child to be comfortable and familiar with negativity and danger. “A 1991 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that nearly all of America’s six-year-olds could identify Joe Camel, who was just as familiar to them a Mickey Mouse”(43). Consequently, “one-third of the cigarettes illegally sole to minors were Camels”(43). Basically the advertisements desensitized children to the dangers of cigarettes because they became so familiar with the mascot. Thus, minors were more likely to try to purchase, and smoke, that brand. For companies with harmful, potentially deadly products to target toddlers is despicable. It is my understanding that cable companies are working to change the generalization of advertisement on TV. I see commercials advertising better ad targeting. Essentially, appealing only to the ideal audience instead of everyone. With this strategy, children’s networks will not run cigarette or beer commercials, and likewise, MSNBC will not be advertising super soakers.
ReplyDeleteBut from a strictly business standpoint, appealing to children is smart, because they bring other customers with them. They never buy alone. So if an advertiser successfully attracts a child consumer, he has also successfully attracted at least one other, adult consumer. It’s a 2 for 1 special. I thinks it’s similar to the fast food companies lobbying to lower minimum wage, its simply good business, good economics. It is smart advertising. It is clear that a lot of the things that fast food companies seems immoral to the average working class consumer, but it (usually) is not illegal. It is just the “dog eat dog” mentality, you do what you have to do to get ahead. If that means you have to appeal to a few innocent children to get their parents to spend money, or that you have to overwork and underpay a few employees, then so be it.
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The world of marketing seems to be the main reason why companies are making more money. They are able to identify and target the people that their products are most compatible with whether they are young children or older people. Schlosser states that, “twenty five years ago, only a handful of American Companies directed their marketing at children—Disney, McDonald’s, candy makers, toy makers, manufacturers of breakfast cereal” (Schlosser 42).
ReplyDeleteIn this particular chapter, Schlosser is targeting the big companies who are portraying the goodness of their company through other facilities and other buildings. Schlosser talks about having McDonald being a big part of a museum and that everything that is in the building reflects back on the goodness of McDonald. McDonald took over the building so much that when Schlosser described the museum, it seemed as though the museum was placed inside of a McDonald building. Schlosser may be trying to find the distinction between companies wanting to advertise their materials based on their hard work or companies trying to target the weak in order to gain profit on their materials that they designed and built. In the book, Schlosser uses the example of Walt Disney trying to target different ranges of audience with Mickey Mouse. Based on the preferences of materials, “Marketing messages sent through a club not only can be personalized, they can be tailored for a certain age or geographical group” rather than just having the character target toward one specific age group (Schlosser 45).
Overall, the idea that companies are trying to make more profit on their materials by advertising a wide variety of them in obnoxious ways to get customers to see it is smart, yet a little bit overwhelming. In my opinion, a good marketing strategy will win customers’ views because appearances do play a big role in selling a product. Schlosser just noted some of the reasons why companies that are big now made it so big.
What is your opinion on some of the advertising methods used by the McDonald’s corporation towards children in America?
ReplyDeleteIn this particular section of the novel, Schlosser outlines the distinct similarities between the Disney and McDonald’s corporations, and their founders Ray Kroc and Walt Disney. The two men each had similar views on the world around them, and each had the dream of impacting the lives of all Americans, especially children, in order to make a heavy profit. Both Kroc and Disney each relied heavily on children as their targeted audience for advertising their new corporations. In my opinion, I believe that the methods they used in advertisement towards children were wrong, but McDonald’s current use of advertisement in school’s is by far the most dishonest method of advertisement employed by either of the two corporations. For instance, Kroc made sure that most all of the McDonald’s commercials appealed to children so that they would bring their parents or grandparents with them to his restaurant. Kroc states, “A child who loves our TV commercials and brings her grandparents to a McDonald’s gives us two more customers” (Schlosser 41). Kroc was trying to appeal to children not because he admired them, but because he wanted to gain more customers through his appeal to them. Today, McDonald’s uses a method of advertising in public schools as another way to appeal to the children of America. Schlosser writes, “Today the nation’s fast food chains are marketing their products in public schools through conventional ad campaigns, classroom teaching materials, and lunchroom franchises, as well as a number of unorthodox means” (Schlosser 52). This marketing technique in my opinion takes the method of advertisement towards children too far, and is in no way a good means of attracting customers to a place of business. School is not meant to be used as an agent of advertisement, and should be a place where children are not distracted from gaining the knowledge they need to become a productive American citizen.
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