Old McDonald Had a Farm: Nation’s Restaurant News on the New Happy Meal Campaign

Lately, fast food chains have been under considerable pressure to provide more nutritious food choices, and they have responded in a variety of ways. This report introduces McDonald’s new advertising campaign, which features an animated goat that learns to eat Happy Meals instead of furniture. The author, Mark Brandau, is associate editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, where the report was published in March 2012.

Read it here: Brandau, "McDonald's Updates Happy Meal Campaign"

 

1. Watch the McDonald’s commercial that features the goat. What message do you think a five-year-old child would receive from seeing the commercial? A ten-year-old? Consider that this commercial would probably air two or three times in a half-hour program. Does repeated viewing change the message? If so, how? How well do you think the commercial succeeds with McDonald’s intention to “make nutrition fun for kids”? Explain your reasoning.
2. One of the published criticisms of the new McDonald’s campaign argues that the message kids will get from this ad is that food at home is bad for you, and the good food is at McDonald’s. Do you agree with this criticism? Why or why not?
3. David Zinczenko’s essay in chapter 16 of your textbook advocates more nutrition information in fast food advertising. Do you think McDonald’s new advertising campaign article would satisfy Zinczenko’s call? Why or why not? How might Zinczenko respond to the new McDonald’s ads?
4. Unless you work in a food service company, you may have never encountered Nation’s Restaurant News. Who do you think is the target audience of the magazine? How might considerations of audience affect the way Brandau approaches the subject of his report? How might the same information be presented differently in a magazine written for school nutritionists? Parents of school-age children? The general public?
5. Brandau emphasizes McDonald’s commitment to good health and nutrition. The company’s goal, of course, is to increase sales through child-targeted advertising. What do you think about heavily-financed advertising campaigns aimed at very young children? Does the product category enter into your evaluation? Does the targeted age matter? Should targeted advertising be off-limits until a certain age? If so, what age? Use these questions to help formulate your ideas on fast food advertising aimed at children, and write an essay in which you argue your position. Provide evidence to support your conclusions.

 

Comments

[Alyssa Brock]

I think the commercial is trying to say that we can subside from our old eating habits, and try new ones, that we may end up liking and are beneficial to our health. I think school cafeterias, as well as school children's parents should all be concerned with this epidemic. I think fast food restuaruants have gone under good changes that benefit not only the consumer but as well as the supplier.

[Emily Helsten]

I believe that McDonnalds is getting better. If you look at the "average" population, most are obese because of fast food and eating poorly. By the time a person is an adult, they have aleady been effected by the grease soaked preserved meat that comes in the fast food. Here, McDonnalds is making the image that eating healthy can still be fun.

[Jake Pfau]

As I look at todays fast food industry, I see the push for healthier foods and lifestyles as a much needed and necessary change. While I do think that the changes being made will help some, I cannot look past the simple fact that there is a total lack of the consumer taking responsibility for what they put into their own bodies. No one forces them to put these horrifically unhealthy foods into their own bodies and to continue to hold these fast food companies completely responsible is a complete sham. This does nothing but empower the consumer to continue to make poor health decisions and set into effect the chain of events where the companies providing the food are the ones to blame. Where as these changes by the fast food industry are helpful and much needed, they will never have any effect on the masses as a whole until the consumers themselves takes action and takes control of their lives.

[Ash]

I dont think it's McDonalds responsibility for what we consume and choose, as far as I know they have a variety of foods to choose from which includes salads and French fries. It is our responsibility to make the right choice when it comes to been healthy. As a parent it is our responsibility to teach our children to choose healthier foods as a mother of 3 it's really hard to have them focus on the healthy food when they have so many unhealthy choices that's why we try to eat at home as much as we can.

[N Byron W]

It's good to see that McDonald is trying to promote better eating habits in children. However, the phrase "kid-sized portions" doesn't seem to translate to more nutritious food, but rather a smaller portion of the same thing. In order for the commercial to be more effective, the target audience should be shifted to parents and focus on educating them about how eating better can benefit their children in the long run.

[Andrew Sternard]

1. After watching the McDonald's goat commercial, I believe it is sending a mixed message. Throughout the entire clip, it shows the goat eating garbage and then when it goes to McDonald's, he goes to eat apples and drink milk. However, it shows the kid that is with the goat eating chicken nuggets and french fries. The commercial shows the child being extremely happy with his meal. I know that my little brother would rather have french fries than eat some sliced apple wedges, and I'm sure he is not alone. With the commercial being aired several times, I believe that kids would get the message to go to McDonald's to order "healthier" food. I feel like although McDonald's is displaying the message to get healthier food, I also believe it is a double edged sword and that kids can still eat their junky food, just in smaller portions.

2. I agree with the criticisms about how McDonald's displays home food as poor quality. Children don't eat baseballs or their fathers hair. It's not a very realistic display food is like home.

3. I do not believe David Zinczenko, author of the essay in Chapter 16, because although McDonald's shows healthier options, it shows homemade food to be trash. In addition it also shows it's unhealthy food in smaller portions in attempt to make children believe it is healthy. I believe Zinczenko would react negatively, because it's misleading information

4.I think that the target audience for the Nation’s Restaurant News are people that are interested in food or health. I could really see a lot of moms reading this. I feel as if this was written for school nutritionists it would require a lot more research and facts, where as with parents a lot more information about health for their kids.

5. I think it is very smart of McDonald's to aim advertising at young children. I know that my parents had a very hard time saying no to me, especially when it went to eating out. I think the ad makes parents feel less guilty about taking their kids to fast food chains because there are healthy options. Ads like these make it easier for parents to crumble to their children begging and spending money at McDonald's, increasing the restaurants revenue. The target age does matter, because most parents are worried about their kids growing up and being healthy. So by showing the goat to grow up and being big and strong, parents think their kids will do the same by having McDonalds. I don't believe audience should have a limit on age, I think everyone should be given an opportunity to think for themselves, regardless of age. Everyone should be able to experience life through their own lens, and live with their decisions. Doing this, will allow people to look back on their mistakes and learn from them.

[Oakley B]

I think that if a five year old would watch this kind of commercial, it would suggest that the food from McDonald’s is better tasting than the food you could find at home. Now if a ten year old would watch it, the ten year old would probably want to eat at McDonald’s more than a healthy person should.. The message of the commercial would be reinforcing by the consistency of it, because not only does it have a catchy tone to it. It also has the idea if it can satisfy a goat that eats anything, and then it must be enough for me. I do think this commercial does achieve its goal on making nutrition fun for little kids. To me this is achieved by the kid and his pet goat. The message was that you can eat good and enjoy it to, this was shown by the goat flexing his muscles, and the kid smiling while eating his food.
I agree with the criticism this commercial has received. If I was a kid and saw that the goat was not getting a balance diet from home, and not only is it one of my favorite dishes to eat then I would prefer that rather than something my parents had made. He or she would get the idea for a balance diet you should eat at McDonald’s. It was shown the goat was sitting at the family table eating anything possible but was still hungry. However when he was at McDonald’s he was content with it. This is implying that the goat was receiving a poor diet by the parents of the house.
No I don’t think it follows what he was calling for in fast food advertising, Just because it has milk or apples doesn’t mean there may not preservatives in the food. There is also a need for the teaching of a balance calorie diet. You may have a balance meal, but that doesn’t mean you have a balance diet. You could have a pop-tart for breakfast, then have four slices of pizza for lunch then eat a happy meal. Does that mean I had a balance diet in the day? I would say no, the pop-tart has no nutrition value, the pizza may contain your meats and vegetables then the happy containing a meat and some fruit. You may have hit the basic’s of the nutrition pyramid but you would have consume over your daily calorie intake. Anything past that number is converted into fat for energy at a later time. I think he would call for at the end of the commercials show the calorie chart of the meal it was advertising for a good 4 seconds.
The target audience for Nation’s Restaurant News is presidents and owners of Restaurants food chains. His article would be more opinions than anything else, his article would include more about how he felt about the issues rather than just telling what was going with McDonald’s. If the information is in a school nutrition magazine then it would probably be graded on health factors, the nutritional scale would be shown. The general public and parents of children would be the same I feel, some would want the information and criticize it. Others would hit lightly on the subject and just throw it under the rug.
Personally I I find that aiming at young children in ads is a low blow for advertisements. Children really have no idea about nutrition and relay on their parents to decide what is good for them. This is not help by kids wanting to always eat out and their parents giving in to them. The product can aim at children if it’s in a certain age group. Toys should be targets at age seven and up, sports can be as low as six and up. Fast food should be age ten or eleven and up, just because they are starting at that age to figure what is going through their bodies.

[alyssa]

In my opinion Mcdonalds has made a small effort introducing some more nutritious options to their menu. I am not convinced that this campaign will make a difference though.Fast Food in moderation won’t hurt anyone, but by making a commercial targeting children, it could give them the wrong idea of what is and what isn’t healthy food, and in the future could affect the health of the younger generations. I think there should be a limit on what ages you can target while advertising.In my opinion the most appropriate age would be 18, because you do legally become an adult,so what decisions you make is ultimately up to you.

A big argument that has also been brought to attention is the new commercial Mcdonalds has come out with depicting an unhealthy goat that eats all the furniture at his house. In the article they pointed out that this commercial could be played 3 times during a half hour tv show. I learned in Psychology that children at young ages are more likely to fall into peer pressure. It’s like monkey see monkey do, children will begin to think the food being advertised is healthier than food at home. Therefore I agree with the criticism that this may give children the idea that they are infact not eating healthy at home, and that the healthy food is at Mcdonalds which in my opinion is stretching the truth. Without parents, children would eat whatever they found convenient. This could lead to childhood obesity.

Although Mcdonalds has tried to shake their stereotype of being an unhealthy fast food restaurant, they are just that. Mcdonalds has been around for years and people still haven’t avoided it, knowing very well that the things they are ingesting aren’t of any nutritious value to them. I think this commercial was a sneaky way of making everyone happy. Making this commercial will get them out of the spotlight for now but we all know that this issue will come up again, and Mcdonalds will be forced to make bigger changes than the ones that have supposedly been made already.

Many large companies target young children to boost their sales.For example cigarette companies target the younger generation, making smoking look cool. This has a negative impact on many young people that could continue well into adulthood. I Mcdonalds is doing the same thing. They are making it seem like they have a healthy menu but infact they are just adding a limited amount of choices to their menu. The rest of their menu is still very unhealthy.I think big companies need to look into the future and not care so much about making the most profit, and make benefiting the communities around them a priority.

[Shelby R.]

1.While watching the commercial that features the goat, I believe that the message a five-year-old would receive would be that McDonalds is the place to go to have fun. For a ten-year-old I believe the message would be different, in the fact that the ten-year-old would understand it more. The message that the ten-year-old would get is that McDonalds is fun, has good food to eat, and would make them healthy and strong. I do think that repeatedly viewing the commercial would change the message because the children would be used to seeing the commercial. So the children wouldn’t think that the commercial is a message it is just a commercial about McDonalds. I think the commercial does a great job at making nutrition look fun because it has a catchy song and makes it look like the children will have a great time eating at McDonalds. The song would pull children in, all the while, making it look fun with animation and a pet goat.

2.I do agree that kids would start getting the idea that food at home is not as good as it is at McDonalds because in the commercial it states that the food the goat was eating at home was making him feel bad, so the family went to McDonalds to the goat could eat a better meal. The kids would then think that he/she would need the better meal and would want to go to McDonalds.

3.The new advertising campaign for McDonalds would not satisfy Zinczenko’s call because McDonalds is still not telling people the risk in eating their food. I think Zinczenko would respond to the new McDonalds ads by saying that McDonalds shouldn’t be allowed to say the meals are healthy without telling exactly what is in the meal.

4.I think the audience of the magazine is mainly parents. The audience would affect the way Brandau would approach the subject of his report because if it were for a nutritionist then the article would need a lot more information and facts, where as if it were for a parent or general public it would be all about the interest of the child or of people in general.

5.I think it is smart to advertise to young children because parents have a hard time saying no to the kids. The parents also want to make the kids happy and it is normal now for parents to work a lot more and then spend little time with their kids. So to make up for spending little time with the kids, the parents will give the kids whatever they want. I do think that companies shouldn’t be targeting young children as the kids are very impressionable, but I don’t think that targeted advertising should be off-limits because it is the parent’s decision to do what is right for the child. The younger the child is the more impressionable the child would be so the targeted age does matter. The more a child sees a McDonald’s commercial the more the child would want McDonalds.

[Marcus Fardal]

Children are very impressionable so it’s hard to tell how they would react after seeing the new McDonalds commercial. It all depends on age; a five year old could see a magical place where you eat delicious food that will make you big and strong, where a ten year old could see a place to eat when time’s of the essence. Because McDonalds has the money to advertise constantly they make their commercials more memorable to the public. I’ve seen their new happy meal commercial numerous times in the past year and although I’ve never had the sudden urge to go to McDonalds right after, I could sing the entire commercial back to you if asked. McDonald’s commercial fulfills its purpose of making nutrition fun for kids by giving them a funny commercial to watch, and showing them that they can eat healthier while still enjoying the old food they love.

This commercial uses an underlying message telling children that McDonalds is where you go to get good food. I agree with the criticism because in the commercial the goat is only eating things that we wouldn’t consider food so it isn’t accurately portraying the types of food people eat in their homes.

In relation to David Zinczenko’s essay in chapter 16 of “They Say I Say” McDonald’s new commercial wouldn’t satisfy his call for more nutrition information in fast food advertising. Although the commercial introduces its new healthier happy meal only the portions and the addition of fruit and milk have changed. Zinczenko wouldn’t be happy with the new commercial because it only tells you how much better the new happy meals are without giving any nutritional information to back it up.

I think the target audience for Nation’s Restaurant news would be adults. When it comes to writing knowing your audience is a crucial aspect. When Brandau wrote this report he knew that his typical readers would have eaten at McDonalds numerous times before so he focused on how the food is changing. When Brandau’s audience changes to school nutritionist he needs to go into more detail by specifying things such as calorie count, trans fat, and overall nutritional value. And finally when dealing with parents and the general public he would need to express possible health risk associated with over consumption of their food.

Truthfully I believe that heavily aiming advertisements to young children is a good strategy. I can’t count the number of times my parents caved in when I asked for something during my infant years. When selling a product two things come into mind the product type and consumer age. When selling hair growth cream you would typically focus your advertisements towards fifty-year-old men who are starting to bald instead of eighteen year olds who still have a full head of hair. I don’t believe that companies have the right to advertise to anyone no matter what age. Just because a commercial comes on doesn’t mean your going to do everything it tells you to, you have a mind of your own use it and make your own decisions. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake everyone does it from time just learn from it and try to make the right choice next time.

[tstanek]

1. When a five-year-old is watching McDonald’s commercial with the goat, he would pay attention to the cartoon aspect of the video. Also, he would most likely notice the music, but not necessarily the message of the commercial. Yes, he would know that it is from McDonald’s, but would he really know it was about eating healthier? On the other hand, a ten-year-old who saw the same commercial would have a better understanding of it. The video shows a pet goat that eats healthier at McDonald’s, which is the purpose of the commercial. If this advertisement is shown multiple times throughout one TV episode, the ten-year-old would understand the video better and think that McDonald’s has healthy food. McDonald’s way to make nutrition fun for kids is effective on the older kids, but is ironic because even though McDonald’s may have added one or two more healthy choices to their menu, the majority of options are filled with fat and sugar-- from Big Macs to the new frozen lemonades. Those kids will comprehend McDonald’s message, but it might not be the right one. I think that the younger kids who watch the commercial enjoy it, but do not necessarily understand that the majority of McDonald’s menu is unhealthy.
2. Children would never get the message that food at home is unhealthy for you. However, children might get the message that the food at McDonald’s is healthy for you. The goat in the video eats hair, boxes, chair, and more, but never ate human food. Then the goat goes to McDonald’s and eats apples and milk for a change, which would show the children that McDonald’s has a majority of the menu that is healthy, which is untrue. The target audience watching this commercial would be younger children, which they would focus on the song and cartoon and not the food at home which is “bad” for you. Children do not always think in depth about that when a commercial is aired. TV commercials are meant to inform you and then you would sit there to soak in the information and not think about the meaning behind it, especially at five-years-old.
3. David Zinczenko wrote an article about how it is the food’s fault for overweight people and not the eaters. He talked about how the eater does not know the calorie intake on the “healthy” food choices unless asked, but even then there are still hidden calories. Zinczenko would not appreciate McDonald’s new advertisements. Yes, they are meant to show the healthy active lifestyle, but he would most likely be skeptical about how healthy the new additions to the Happy Meal. Zinczenko might respond by saying that the idea of having a better healthier lifestyle is better, but in reality the apples and milk really are not going to make much of a difference compared to the French fries and chicken nuggets all in the same Happy Meal.
4. National Restaurants News is a magazine that most people have never heard about or read—a trade journal. Their target audience would be the competitors in the same food industry. It would show the “newest trend” for meals and the beverages, so the competitors want to make sure that they can see what is going on to improve their own store, which is why the general public never reads the magazine. When Brandau was writing an objective report and so he could not contain personal opinions or show any favoritism because this was published in National Restaurants News. If this article had been written for school nutritionists, it would focus even more on how healthy the new Happy Meals at McDonald’s are and possibly suggest schools to serve them at lunch. If the target audience were parents of school aged children, he would focus on the aspect that McDonald’s has taken the more active lifestyle route and how the Happy Meals have healthy foods inside them. And if Brandau were to write to the general public, I am sure that his article would be very similar to the one that he would write for parents of school children. His report would mainly stay the same but he could emphasize different things depending on the target audience.
5. McDonald’s campaigns are aimed at very young children. This is smart advertising because parents want to make their children happy, which means they might have to go out McDonald’s. Also today is a very fast-paced world, everyone is impatient so getting their child a healthy meal from McDonald’s would be the simplest way to keep their child happy without spending much time. The target advertising should not be limited based on age. The advertisers have learned lately that parents are busy at work and doing other things, that some do not have time to spend with their children. Those guilty parents give their children extra money, which means those are the new consumers that restaurants (and other businesses) want to attract. McDonald’s has always had commercials for children because of Happy Meals and they need to start the relationship with their customers at an early age. Also the toys in the Happy Meals help McDonald’s advertisements for children because toys attract more kids to the product and allow them to co-market with movie character and so forth. Spending money on campaigns aimed at young children is an efficient way to get customers, but also keep them loyal throughout the years. Those young children will remember what it was like and send their children to McDonalds one day to keep them just as happy.

[Dylan Kneip]

1. After watching the commercial, I think a five year old would find it fun and entertaining whereas a ten year old would probably think that the commercial is foolish and wouldn’t want to see it again. The ten year old might still want McDonalds at the end of the commercial just because it sounds good, not because the commercial was good. A five year old would find it amusing every time it came on the TV and maybe after seeing it a couple of times they would be convinced that healthy food is fun. A ten year old on the other hand wouldn’t even think about getting that healthy stuff, he would go right for the greasy, fat stuff. I think the commercial does a good job at making it fun for young kids, which is what the promotion was aimed at. It shows that we can eat the chicken and fries, just not as much.
2. I believe it deserves some criticism because it doesn’t show what meals are like at home. It shows the goat eating everything in sight. It’s for kids and it’s suppose to be funny and in that sense it does a good job at showing that food can be healthy and fun.
3. No, I don’t think it would satisfy Zinczenko’s liking. It doesn’t give any health facts. It doesn’t talk about any nutritional values as far as calories in the meal. Zinczenko probably wouldn’t like the ad.
4. I think the magazine is targeted at those people who are interested in food. The considerations from his audience probably wouldn’t mean too much to him. He is writing the report based on facts, not opinion. If the same information was presented in a magazine for school nutritionist, it should show more facts. For parents, the information could be presented in way to convince the parents of young children that fast food can be healthy and to make sure their kids are staying active.
5. I think heavily financed campaigns aimed at children are unwise in some ways. That kid can want a happy meal as bad as he/she wants but if the parent doesn’t want to take him/her there then the kid isn’t getting it. That kid also can’t drive and has no money. I think if McDonalds want to promote healthy eating for kids, advertising needs to somehow get across to parents that these meals aren’t as bad for kids as most of the other things at these fast food restaurants. Some parents can’t say no to their kids and will take them there anyways. McDonalds should equally distribute their advertising in different ways; showing kids how it is fun to eat healthy and show the parents nutritional facts about their products. I do think the target age matters. If you target teenagers and young adults about healthy foods, most won’t care. They are still going to order that big mac. Target advertising shouldn’t be off-limits. Let people make their own decisions. It’s their life.

[Sirui Ren]

1. For five-year old kids, they might think the goat and the boy in the cartoon are interesting. Since curiosity is nature of every child, a boy might want to try the Happy Meal himself even he does not know clearly what it is. A ten-year–old girl, who may know McDonald’s before and perhaps likes it, will ask her parents to take her to McDonald’s since it might be the communication topic in her classroom. If the ad is repeated again and again, kids will be more impressed. This effect might be both good and bad. Some kids are bored by the repeating ad, while others are interested in it. The “goat” ad, which stresses that the children-friendly food is nutritious, does know what parents want most, which is the key point leading to its good sales. Though I doubt how nutritious fast food is, I’d like to see the changes that have taken place these days. It’s better to have these fast food restaurants focused on balanced diet instead of only making delicious but unhealthy food.

2. I disagree with that. It’s too unfair to say so. It’s true that McDonald’s points that it’s healthy to eat in McDonald’s, but there’s no sign showing that it’s bad to eat at home in the ad. For example, if I say I like apples, that does not mean I do not like oranges. Also, it’s common that companies make ads exaggerating to attract customers. If I were the ad-maker, I wouldn’t say it was really bad to eat in McDonald’s, so just stayed at home, right?

3. I doubt that McDonald’s ads satisfy David Zinczneko’s requirement. Zinczenko suffered from fast food and asks all prepared food list all of the calories together clearly, which can draw customers’ attention and reconsider their orders to keep fit. It’s a good start for McDonald’s choosing to go healthy way, but it’s so early to justify if it really does. Zinczenko may want to call for the warning of calories in easily-see place, and list all the things inside.

4. The target of the magazine are probably young mothers who care for their kids, staffs who work connected with restaurants, and maybe consumer watchdogs as mentioned in the article. Those audiences can make a difference. Mothers will have a lot of choices from the magazine, and they will buy those things for their family. In the mean time, audiences like the watchdogs will take positive effects because they often keep their eyes on food makers.

5. Well. I am not against the ads aimed at very young children. I think it’s the little kids’ parents, instead of ads, that do matter. Parents are first teachers of their kids, so they are responsible to teach their sweethearts to distinguish good products and bad ones. My dad never believes in fast food, so he has not taken me out to eat in McDonald’s ever. I prefer to eat at home instead of those fried chicken swings because of his influences. What’s more, even if there’s a limitation age of ads, assuming that 10 is the bottom line, the problem is how to tell part which ads are aimed at 10-year-old children, and which are aimed at eleven. The limitation might not work at all.

[Ryan Fosse]

1. The McDonald’s commercial featuring the goat sends a very strong, positive message to both a five-year-old and a ten-year-old child, simply because children that young are very easily influenced by any sort of advertisement. This is true, because young children feel like they have to follow the crowd in order to fit in. This advertisement attempts to persuade children to believe that if they eat McDonald’s, they will grow to be strong just like the goat. The more and more the children see this message, the more likely they will be convinced that eating McDonald’s is a necessity. This commercial does a tremendous job to “make nutrition fun for kids” because the cartoon and jingle aspect entices the kid to pay attention and from the general message of the commercial, the kids will actually believe that proper nutrition is fun and beneficial.
2. There has been some major criticism regarding McDonald’s new marketing campaign, stating that, “the message kids will get from this ad is that food at home is bad for you, and that good food is at McDonald’s.” I agree completely, the commercial shows a goat eating everything in sight, most of which being items that aren’t even considered food. Following that, the goat is shown eating a balanced, nutritious meal at McDonald’s. Children will be quite obviously getting the message that the best foods for them are found at McDonald’s, and not at home.
3. I am led to believe that David Zinczenko would indeed be pleased with Mcdonald’s attempt to make their food healthier, but he would still call for the actual nutrition information to given to the viewers. Zinczenko would also appreciate the fact that there are now healthier alternatives for buyers to purchase instead of consuming the empty calories typically contained in french fries and sodas. Zinczenko understands that sometimes the consumer isn’t at fault, hence his article titled, “Don’t Blame the Eater” which implies that companies oftentimes, mislead the customer into thinking they are consuming less calories than they really are. In order for Zinczenko to be fully satisfied with this advertisement, it must incorporate the health aspects and warnings.
4. I would assume that Nation’s Restaurant News targets the general public, specifically those who are in the restaurant business, looking for business plans and ideas that could be useful in their own marketing scheme. When writing this article, Mark Brandau, incorporates the advertisement strategies used by McDonald’s as this is what is important to his audience, however if his audience was to change to school nutritionists, the article would integrate more information on the actual nutrition of the new options. The parents of these school-aged children would also be most concerned with the health of the food; therefore Brandau’s article would primarily contain that information. If Brandau’s goal was to have his article pertain to the general public, he would have to provide information that is important to all readers, incorporating topics for those concerned about the business aspect, the nutrition aspect, and everything in-between.
5. I think that there are some obvious pros and cons, when it comes to advertising directed towards very young children. While an advertisement may succeed in enticing a child to want a product, the parents still are most likely going to be purchasing the product; therefore advertisement must both make the child desire the product, while at the same time winning over the parent’s approval. Quite often, the parents are too concerned with making their children happy, which results in the parents giving in to their child’s wants. I do not believe there should be any sort of limit on targeted age advertisements, because in the end it is the parent’s responsibility to feed their children and keep them healthy. There is no denying that there is a direct correlation between advertisements directed towards children and the number of children who end up with that product, however this all goes back to whether or not their parents are willing to buy them the product. Fast Food FACTS states, “Forty percent of parents reported that their child asks to go to McDonald’s at least once a week; 15% of preschoolers ask to go every day.” This survey suggests that these advertisements are more and more effective the younger the audience is. This also points out that the parents are taking the children to these establishments, not the children themselves. The fast food industry cannot be blamed for childhood obesity, but instead the purchaser of these unhealthy foods. Childhood obesity can completely be prevented by good parenting.

[Lily Aguirre]

As a person who eats fast food regularly, I know what it is to have a choice over what I decide to put in and out of my body. I applaud a franchise such as Mc Donald’s to attempt to make changes and create a menu for people to create better life style choices. My question although is that if you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle, why are you at a place such as Mc Donald’s trying to accomplish this? Mc Donald’s can only take so much blame for others mistakes. People have the voice and their own will to be able to stop and acknowledge the decisions they are making based on healthy life styles, so I have to agree with Jake Pfah. If the food industry is getting blamed for people becoming more obese, next it might be the public blaming Apple corp. for making their wallets smaller for example. Society always needs a scapegoat to run to justify people’s actions. During the Columbine shooting it was music. After 911 it was stereotypically all of the people from the Middle East. When does it stop, and when do people take blame for their own actions? Mc Donald’s is just a franchise trying to make the most profit that they can possibly get. The beauty of this country is that anyone has the free will to be a critical thinker and say “Hey I will not eat these because I know it is not healthy for me.” People take for granted the power they posses. Parents have the will to discipline their children into not making fast food so desirable. People constantly see a thing in commercials that they want that does not mean that they are going to get it. This idea of blaming major fast food corporation’s needs to change.

[Jourdan Jefferson]

I myself have personally eaten fast food every day for about a couple weeks straight and the one fast rood place I would always turn to was McDonalds. Over time, yes McDonalds has shown change in whether it be its commercials or the food In which they serve. McDonalds has added the calorie count to their menu and has also tried adding salads, yogurt parfaits, and etc. Although they did add these so called “healthier snacks” it does not rightfully give the title of the food being healthy. For example, the salad’s in which McDonald’s sells just because it is a salad doesn’t mean it is healthy for you. I myself did not know that about the salads and constantly was eating McDonalds salads, until the point where I realized the chicken in which was in my salad was really greasy and disgusting. I also tend to wonder why when people go on diets they tend to flock to McDonald’s and try to eat the “healthier foods” as I have mentioned before. It is also good to see McDonalds trying to change and try to bring smaller meals into play. For example, the dollar menu, or “The Mighty Kids Meal”. Both of these examples do not mean they are going to be more nutritious for the individual who is eating them, but just a smaller portion of the food will be given out. Although people are quick to blame McDonalds, and other fast food restaurant’s for the obesity rates increasing, whether it would be the increase in weight gain among children and adults (mainly children) most parents should be held reliable when it comes to the choice of which their children eat, and also the choice of which the adults eat. As an adult you know what is good or bad for your children so why would you continue giving your child unhealthy foods, when you know in the long run this will only catch up to the child and possibly shorten their life. The main targets should be the parents and the type of parenting skills in which they use, and not to put the blame on all fast food restaurants.

[cynthia zavala]

After reading “McDonald’s updates Happy Meal Campaign” by Mark Brandau I can see how they are trying to portray a healthier lifestyle, and providing healthier choices within the restaurant. This new commercial targets young children with its animation and it sending a message that they can find a “healthy” meal at McDonald's rather than at home. The purpose of this commercial is to introduce children to nutritious meals and show that they can eat healthy and enjoy their meal as well. Although there have been some substitutions to the happy meal like replacing the soda with milk and adding sliced apples to the meal they are still eating the same unhealthy foods they were before, only in smaller portions. McDonald's is targeting the easiest influenced group, this is because children usually know how to convince the adult to get what they want. If children see that McDonald’s food is now a healthy choice they will fully believe that, they do not know what it means to eat things in moderations, or calorie intakes. As these children grow up they might continue to think that these foods are a healthy choice and become unhealthy individuals. I don’t believe that targeting such a vulnerable group is right but businesses will do whatever it takes to gain profit, even if its children convincing their parents that McDonald's is a good choice. Along with McDonald's attempting to portray a healthier lifestyle, their choice of being a sponsor for the Olympics may convince some that some Olympians consume their food. I cannot fully blame McDonald's for the high obesity rate but it does have a fault in trying to lure children in along with the parent who is trying to please them. Of course a parent should be at fault as well for giving in, but when it comes to eating fast food people need to learn how to educate themselves about the intake and calories they are consuming. After all it is ones choice to eat what they please.

[QuynhBOT]

1. For a ten year old child this commercial is very misleading. Considering how healthy eating has been greatly advertised the last few years. For a child who want to eat healthier is a great thing however when resorting to food which may not be good for you can make a child want to give up on this "lifestyle". Personally I don't find repeating this commercial helps McDonald's intention of eating healthy foods, however I do find it helps them advertise their store and get more mislead costumers.
2.I completely agree with the statement the critics gave. It is true eating healthy at home can be more costly at times however at home parents are able to make the food in better quality and control the portions. I believe kids should know the health benefits of eating at home compare to fast food.
3. Personally don't think Zinczenko would be satisfied with the new McDonald's ads. The nutritional value at McDonald and other fast food is very limited as it is. I actually think Zinczenko would agree on the fact that the new ads are misleading and the nutrition information is not empathized enough. One of Zinczenko points in his essay is the fact that the amount of fat and carbs in these new found fast food meals exceed the calorie count of the the food you would make at home.
4.As someone who only glaceed at the site and read the title Taco Bell, Subway score big with Super Bowls ads" I have assume this site is more pro fast food. I think the target is toward those who wants to know about the financial side of fast food industry. I would assume seeing the audience he would watch the way he words phases. Depending on the reporter, the information may be more bias leaning toward pros or cons instead of just bluntly providing the facts.
5. For most families including my own, the children of the house hold does pick where you eat most of the time. Parents often take there child's opinion into consideration when they go out to eat. I do think targeting children should be banned. Children are often naive when it comes to personal health. So until the child knows better about the health benefits of eating at home over fast food, I don't think it should be allowed. In short fast food advertisement aims toward child under 12 should be banned.

[Shu Zhang]

1.In my opinion, a five-year-old child will just thinks about the interesting story happened in cartoon. However, 10-year-old child will easily concentrate on what kind of food the goat eat in the McDonald includes free milk and apple slices, which are able to make people strong. So children will be interested in McDonald’s new happy meal. I agree that people will be attracted by the commercial after it shows several times, because the commercial for McDonald’s new nutrient meal is easy to understand, which use cartoon to attract more children.
2.I disagree; because the commercial only tells us the naughty goat always bring some trouble into the family, such as eating father’s hair. Therefore, the family took the goat to McDonald to have a healthy lunch. It does not show eating at home is bad, it just say McDonald will be a good place for you to have a healthy meal.
3.Yes, the author of “Don’t Blame the Eater” thinks that the fast food companies need to promote some healthy product. My own view is David Zinczenko might support this advertisement, because McDonald has come up with some nutrition meal, which will be good for children’s health. Although there is still some unhealthy food in McDonald, but the company has already known the weakness of its business, it tries to make their food become more nutrition.
4.The target audience will be some children’s parents and school teachers, those people are familiar with children, they have responsible for teaching children what kind of food is beneficial for them. What customer really need, what kind of food customer will prefer and think it is healthy, these kind of information will be very important for the company, because it need to satisfy customer’s needs. Furthermore, the magazine should be printed for school education, the parents and the public. As for the children, the magazine need to be much more easier to read, for parents it needs to be complex and scientific, parents are able to teach student how to have a good eating habit.
5.The target audience should be changed, not only for the young children who are from 5-15 years old, but also for parents. The children have low purchasing power, and they always listen to their parents. If a company wants to increase the quantity of sales, they need to persuade parents to believe the food is good for children to eat, and they are able to enjoy the healthy food too. For example, my cousin always wants to eat McDonald but his mother often stops him to buy food, because she thinks it is unhealthy. Therefore it is significant to let parents know the benefit of eating in the McDonald and the parents can also educate children how to have a balance diet.

[Ashlie Justice]

1. In my opinion, a five year old is getting the impression that McDonalds has good food to eat and is fun. A ten year old would take this commercial different than a 5 year old because five year olds may not know that goats eating couches, hair, and cardboard is unusual. Knowing that, a ten year old would know that it was fake and may not be as enthused as the five year old. However, I think it still catches the 10 year olds attention by playing the catchy song and getting the knowledge that McDonalds is not as unhealthy as earlier thought. By playing the commercial repeatedly I believe that people can get a new perspective on it. That goes for anything that you see twice. You always catch something you never noticed earlier. I also know that after a while, you just ignore the commercials that you have seen more than three times. I believe that the commercial succeeds in showing McDonalds as fun and healthy. The hilarity of the goat eating everything and drinking milk and apples puts a whole new twist on humor and really makes McDonalds look like a happy fun place.
2. I agree with the criticism because the way they advertise the goat eating unrealistic food in the home sends a message that what you eat in the home is not healthy and you should go to McDonalds to eat your apples and milk.
3. After reading the essay in chapter sixteen of my textbook, I do not think that McDonalds new campaign would satisfy David Zinczenco’s call because McDonalds just not advertise or tell you what exactly you are eating. I do not think Zinczenco would respond very well to McDonalds new campaign because they would argue that they are not backing up that there food is now “healthy”. They show milk and apples, but what about the mc chicken or mc double? They do not tell you what is it in and how many calories there are.
4. I think the target audience is critics and adults. If Brandau was writing to critics, there would have been more data and facts to support his idea. The article that he wrote was aiming more towards the average American. Therefore, he didn’t need many facts to support his theory. If the article was written for nutritionists to read, there would be more information on how many calories is in an average meal. Brandau also would have included the reasons to why an apple and milk would improve the meal, when you are also eating unhealthy French fries and cheeseburgers.
5. I think it will help sales because the kids will see the commercial and will want to go get a happy meal. However, I do not think for the children’s sake that it is a good idea to advertise at them. Kids at that age do not know what is healthy for them. They just know what they like. If they are reminded of McDonalds everyday on commercials they will want to go regularly. Obviously, that is not a very good healthy choice. If the child wants to eat at McDonalds, the adult that takes them will more than likely order something as well. So again, aiming towards kids was a good idea for sales. However, for the general publics’ health, it was not a good idea. I have mixed feelings on whether or not target advertising should be cut off at a certain age. You can look at two ways. When children get old enough to understand that what they see on the commercials is for sale, I believe it is okay to target those kids if it is a good product for them. In my opinion, toys are okay to see through commercials, but fast food companies should not be trying to sell to them.

[kimberly]

I am happy to see that McDonalds is finally making an effort to make healthier choices available to consumers.I think that the more they make healthier choices available the more consumers will think about what they are putting in their bodies and the effects that making a healthy choice have on our health.

[Gregory Yerra]

After reading the article it is said that Mcdonalds receives many critisisms for the food they produce and now they have come
under fire for generating ads targeting kids.The ad shows a kid at home with a goat that is eating everything in sight. The family decides that the goat needs a nutritious meal so they head to McDonalds. While many people may think it is wrong for fast food companies to target children with commercials appealing to kids I disagree. Kids can be impressionable but even if its a fast food commercial I don''t think it sends the message that food that is at home is bad; people tend to look too deep into things these days. At the end of the day its not like fast food companies are selling drugs to kids.

[Francine Victoria]

I believe some fast food restaurants are trying to put a healthier menu out for their consumer. For example McDonald's give parents the choice of choosing french fries for the child or apple. Most parents still pick french fries because old habits is hard to break. That being said, if each parents gives their child healthier habits, child diabetes and obesity would extremely decrease.

[Esteban Hernandez]

I believe the message the kids will get from the commercial is if they eat McDonalds they will have a healthier life. For example maybe that is what a ten year old kid will understand or care for the goat. I would think the 10 year olds would just see the goat as a pet and would not consider it as a deeper meaning. They will just look at the commercial and be entertained because it is a cartoon, plays a friendly song, and it is colorful. When 5 year olds see the commercial I would think they are being entertained by the goat and consider the commercial to be a short story about the goat. The commercial is short just like a children’s book and the happy ending is the goat gets to eat McDonalds. The different age groups will react differently to the commercial. There will be different reactions for the parents as well. For some parents they might believe McDonalds is getting healthier by the commercial showing sliced apples and milk. Even though it does show milk the milk is chocolate which is sweet and has sugar. That is not healthy but since the biggest word you see on the jug is "MILK" all capitalized; the parents will only be seeing that word. The commercial shows the parents being happy because they are feeding the son and the goat healthy food. If a kid saw that and knew how to manipulate their parents, they can use that against them by saying, "They look like a happy family when they eat McDonalds together especially since it is healthy now." The kids will convince the parents and when they go they might have the sliced apples and milk but there main meal can be a cheeseburger or mcnuggets. Even the parents can be tricked to be eating healthy there, by getting a salad or a parfait. The commercial is done well to make the kids want to eat "healthy" as well as to convince parents to take them to McDonalds.

[Alyssa]

I agree that this commercial is very catchy. I can definitely see why the kids would be attracted to such a clever idea. This commercial consists of cartoon-like characters that would appeal to young children. The rhyming and tune help to draw in the kids along with the goat that eats so much. I think this idea is a great way to push kids to eat healthier. The boy in the commercial tells the goat to eat healthier rather than junk. For kids to see that another boy is eating healthy and telling others to, it will help to promote healthier eating. By using the milk in the commercial it is showing kids that milk promotes strong bones. This proves to be a positive impact. Showing kids that the boy and goat in the commercial love to eat apples and milk with their meals, the children will want to do the same. By providing healthier choices in their meals, McDonalds can improve kids eating habits. By doing a small thing such as this in their meals, it can reduce the rate of obesity by that much more. Obesity is becoming a real problem in America that is skyrocketing as the years progress. People are not eating as well as they used to due to many temptations and changes in the food industry. The food industry is altering their foods in a negative way that is impacting the lives of many. For McDonald’s to swap apples for fries and milk for soda is a smart move. I feel that it will bring in more sales because parents will be more willing to negotiate by giving their child chicken nuggets but balancing those with healthy alternatives. By adding these healthier choices, it is helping to change McDonald’s image which has been said to be the least healthy fast food place out of them all. The change in the happy meal is a positive thing and is a great change to their menu.