Junk Food Advertisement in the USA - Term Paper Example

 Fast Food Advertising In America, food advertisement remains a gender-specific cultural item. The advertisements associate meat consumption with the masculine identity. Even though women also consume meat, they are closely linked with the consumption of plant-based proteins. Despite these criticisms, the mass media still celebrate the masculine identity especially in fast food commercials. The modern age television advertisement has evolved to become harmful to one’s health. A considerable number of ads are based on unhealthy eating and the consumption of abused substances such as alcohol and cigarette. Fast food contributes to a variety of lifestyle diseases. Food companies across the world spend billions of money on advertisement that promote the consumption of these foods. Advertisement does not only sell products, it indoctrinates values by establishing stereotypes that epitomize certain traits. The government should ban fast food advertising on television because it encourages unhealthy eating habits among the young people. Definition of terms Fast foods relates to a wide variety of junk foods that are high on fat and sugar content. A good example of fast foods includes meat products such as burgers, and fries. The mass media relates to all the available media channels or platforms that provide advertisement facilities such as television, internet, and news magazines. Masculine identity is the association of a particular trait with the male figure. As earlier mentioned most food advertisements are gender-specific as they portray meat as a preserve of men. Women have elicited concerns regarding these patriarchal-centered commercials. For this reason, scholars have established a link between women, capitalism, and nature. Reasons Fast food advertising encourages unhealthy eating habits among the young people. The predominance of fast food television adverts continues to rise on a daily basis. The increase is followed by the rise in the number of adverse effects of a number of these commercial specifically to young people. Companies continue to target the youths on these over commercialized ads. The more the hours youths spend on television, the more they are exposed to these advertisements and the more revenues the companies earn. “Marketing experts confirm the Burger King and Carl Junior campaign are specifically targeted toward young men, (Carrie & Debra 282).” The premise serves to confirm the vulnerability of the young people Fast food consumption. Junk foods are associated with the increasing rate of lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure, and diabetes. Moreover, fast foods are linked with the rising rate of child obesity in America. Child obesity is a severe public health problem that results in high mortality rate. The number of obese children has tripled within the last two decades. Obesity places the youths at risk of contracting lifestyles diseases in their later years. Unstated assumption All fast food advertisements are bad therefore; the government should ban them all. Most fast food advertisements are so convincing, they end up misguiding the public. Most people fail to realize the persuasive motives of these advertisements. The advertisements are largely exploitative. Most people can recall the ads content since they occur on a frequent basis. The commercials focus on product preference, as such, it affects the children purchase decision and that of their parents. It is difficult to control the effects of television adverts. The government should help stop exploitative adverts that alter the behavior of young people. “Structured on objectives of “consumption” and “conquest,” the Indigenous female body was used metaphorically and literally to over-take the new world (Gorseki).” By way of illusion, this statement holds as valid since the mainstream media agenda sets (deliberate coverage of a subject to skew the public mood toward the subject), the notion that fast foods are fashionable. Regardless of the lesser nutritional value of fast foods, the mainstream media endeavors to override the nutritional value of the fast foods. In retrospect, the media wishes to conquer the good judgment of the young people by enticing them to consume fast foods. On a general note, fast foods adverts are bad as they focus entirely on the emotional aspect of the consumers rather than their rationality. As such, the government should institute measures either to control the advert influence on the young people or ban them all. Assertion All fast food adverts should be banned on television. The government should either ban these advertisements or force the companies to alter the message delivered. Children lack the ability to understand the negative effects of the message portrayed in these advertisements. Commercials broadcast on stereotypes are devoid of truth and facts. For instance, the premise “the prominence of masculine themes in advertisement for meat products and subs, (Carrie & Packwood 277)” tend to postulates that men cannot eat organic foods. In all aspects and fairness such, an argument is erroneous and misleading. The youths are a naïve lot as they view advertisements as the sole source of product information. Most of these adverts are bent on misleading the public to consume unhealthy food products. Young people are not mature enough to control their impulsive behaviors. For instance, a teenager may end up smoking cigarettes due the influence of the advertisement that portray smoking to be cool while disregarding its effects. Such advertisements are misleading since they alter the behavior of these young people. The government should ban all these commercial for the good of the entire society. The effects of unhealthy consumption are apparent. As earlier mentioned, the adverts solely focus on the objectives of the company while neglecting the well-being of the consumers. Conclusion In the 1950s, tobacco companies were the biggest sponsors of television shows. The commercial made smoking to be a common phenomenon just like drinking a cup of tea. However, over the years most people are more aware of the devastating effects of smoking to one’s health. Numerous heath reports link several lung diseases to smoking. As a result, a legal provision that requires the embedding of a warning label on cigarette packets was instituted. As the 21st century approached, tobacco companies strived to make cigarette smoking look harmless and cool. The recent cigarette advertisements attempts to appeal to the young people. As a result, it led to the banning of cigarettes commercial in television and print media. Scholar relates fast food to the harmfulness of cigarette smoking. However, according to critics, not all fast food are harmful though majority of them should not be consumed frequently. Fast food advertisement targeting children peaked through the 1990s. However, it has since declined due to widespread criticisms by health groups. The McDonalds, a key fast food outlet remodeled most its advertisement techniques that centered on children. Cartoon characters hardly feature these days as compared to the past. As time passes, more people are becoming more aware of the dangers of consumption of fast foods. The growing level of awareness is partly due to the rising level of obesity among the youths. As such, there is a possibility of having a warning hint in fast food adverts. However, in the mean times plans are in place that raises consumer awareness on what they eat. The steps help the consumers to make the right decision regarding the consumption of fast foods. As much as the steps aimed at curbing the susceptibility of young people to lifestyle diseases it all comes down to personal restraint. Public policy should alter the message of these advertisements by transforming them into a positive message. The government should standardize fast food advertisements. Federal agencies should set crucial guidelines that enforce actions against companies that promote deceptive advertisement. In addition, it should focus on the length and frequency of the commercials by restricting their programming duration. Federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission can standardize food advertisement by limiting the type of foods and duration they are aired. However, it is noted that it has failed to regulate the influence these commercials have on young people. On a general note, regulation directly to fast commercials should strive to change the negative message to a positive one. References Carrie Packwood and Debra Merskin. "Having it His Way: The Construction of Masculinity in Fast Food TV Advertising." (2008) Gorseki, Julie. "How Did This Happen? Capitalism's Double Subordination of Women and Nature - The Feminist Wire." The Feminist Wire. 1 May 2015. Web. 18 May 2015. Read More