Monday, September 10, 2012

Sally Franckowiak, Research, Week 1


Sally Franckowiak
Research
Week 1

Food Ad for Children

            This coke commercial reached a wide audience. It aired during the Super Bowl and has 5 million hits on youtube alone. The first appealing thing about this advertisement is its use of characters from the popular cartoon The Simpsons. The characters are instantly recognizable, as many parents and children have watched this show for years. Next, there’s the storyline of the ad that tries to show you that coke can make all of your problems seem less problematic. Mr. Burns loses all of his money and is walking around the town miserable. However, when he is handed a coke the world seems brighter and the town accepts him!

Children in Crisis (HBO: The Weight of the Nation)

            This video in an HBO series about America’s obesity epidemic explores how the problem is affecting children. It states that this generation of kids may be the first to be majorly outlived by their parents. Much of the blame is being placed on current advertisements. These ads are largely directed towards children so they will beg their parents to buy the product. Parents aren’t realizing how harmful these products are to their kids and give them what they want. Children with televisions in their room are more likely to be overweight. Not necessarily because they are always inactive, but because of the amount of advertisements they witness.
            Another issue discussed in the video is the lack of importance being placed on children’s health at their own schools. PE programs are being cut across the nation and the cafeteria food is atrocious. School administrators are under pressure to get kids’ grades up so they are focusing their budgets on academics. However, PE and eating nutritional foods are proven to help kids do better in school. The video also shows a few of the people working to get laws passed to require PE and better nutrition in schools. 

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