Yeah, pretty much every supermarket here has confectionery free checkouts, and make them pretty obvious with signage etc.
it's the actual corporate-defined aim of mcdonald's happy meal strategy. it encourages positive thoughts and happy memories and subconsciously makes you more disposed to buy from their company. of course adults have the education and knowledge of what is 'healthy' and what is 'unhealthy' - but evidently mcdonalds believe that, given the choice between them, burger king and KFC, you'd be (sub)consciously motivated to go and get a big mac. it may be tenuous psychology but the company obviously has enough faith and have researched it enough to believe it is worth the multi-million dollar happy meal advertising campaigns. there is a logic to it, and you can refute it on the basis of your 'free will' all you want- but most 20th century thought is strongly in favour of 'free will' being a bullshit old-fashioned philosophical concept. the motivations and attractions are just operating below the level of self-awareness.Flaming_Maniac wrote:
There is nothing illegal or wrong about the carrot-on-a-stick. That defines advertising in anything. Kids can't make their own informed decisions - but kids don't have money either. If a parent can't say no then the kid is fucked period, a happy meal is the least of their problems. If the toy choice makes the kid want burger X over burger Y, that is good advertising. The kid doesn't have such discerning taste as we develop as we grow older, but the industry has found a way to differentiate in order to compete.Uzique wrote:
you stated they're "legislating against obesity [...] and the freedom to make stupid decisions". they're obviously not. you're being reductionist and absurd. they're legislating against corporations dangling carrots-on-a-stick in front of consumers, leading them subliminally/ostensibly to buy products without any full awareness of what they are exactly purchasing. in the marketing/advertisement industry, the merits of the product alone should be enough to sell it to consumers, i.e. you shouldn't need toys and freebies to peddle a fucking hamburger. mcdonalds purposefully invest a lot of money into research and strategising the best way to sell their shit to children, it's a VERY CAREFULLY planned process. the logic? impress children with happy childhood memories of mcdonalds, and psychologically the children will be more likely to revisit the take-away at a later date- it's an underhand way to SUBCONSCIOUSLY boost LIFE-TIME CONSUMER LOYALTY. it's an unethical trading practice. mcdonalds can go on selling burgers, or whatever food they want - i don't care how healthy or unhealthy it is. i just don't agree with them influencing impressionable children's minds with toys. and you can argue against it all you want, but the studies and anecdotal evidence (viz. all of you adults here for one claiming how you much you enjoyed McD's as a kid) suggest that this toy thing is a pretty ethically reprehensible trick.
All that you spout off about consumer loyalty is just drivel. I had lots of happy meals as a kid, you think I don't know how bad fast food is for me? You think I'm a McDonald's zombie? You have a hilarious rich man's burden mindset.
regardless of whether or not that 'theorizing' on the part of mcdonalds vs. the legislators ever comes to concrete truth- the principle is the same. the company are purposefully targeting children with the belief that it will encourage some form of 'loyalty' and will hence sell more burgers. it's a cheap trick. children don't have knowledge and they don't have money - you're right - parents do. but even putting pressure on parents, placing them in that predicament, is a little bit underhand- don't you think? after all they're only trying to sell fucking burgers. children shouldn't be getting upset by being denied them in the first place. why do they get upset at their parents? the TOY. they sure as hell aren't weeping over the missed opportunity to gobble a few fries.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
lol. like it or not that is part of american culture. you are either full of shit or just having a piss that kids only eat veggies and fruit everywhere else in the world. i reckon some curry is just as shitty or prolly worse.Dilbert_X wrote:
The hamburger part.11 Bravo wrote:
since when are apples, milk, and a hamburger unhealthy?
Last edited by 11 Bravo (2010-04-30 06:47:51)
I wouldn't expect a responsible parent to feed their kids curry as a substitute for a meal either.
Nor would a responsible curry house hand out Pokemon cards to get kids through the door.
Nor would a responsible curry house hand out Pokemon cards to get kids through the door.
Last edited by Dilbert_X (2010-04-30 06:50:47)
Fuck Israel
we eat hamburgers. always have. its a kids are lazy thing, not the burger imo.Dilbert_X wrote:
I wouldn't expect a responsible parent to feed their kids curry as a substitute for a meal either.
They can do whatever they want to promote loyalty. In no way shape or form am I or is anyone else some sort of zombie that can only think about McDonald's.
"Parents and kids are a captive audience at the checkout, and pester power and tantrums are very real problems. "
Hilarious. Our will power is so weak we bitch about a candy bar sitting on a shelf near where we will stand for up to five minutes, ohhh the temptation.
"He who cannot obey himself will be commanded."
No, it's not. That is what anything aimed at kids does, and what parents should be well-equipped for.Uzique wrote:
but even putting pressure on parents, placing them in that predicament, is a little bit underhand- don't you think?
"Parents and kids are a captive audience at the checkout, and pester power and tantrums are very real problems. "
Hilarious. Our will power is so weak we bitch about a candy bar sitting on a shelf near where we will stand for up to five minutes, ohhh the temptation.
"He who cannot obey himself will be commanded."
I watched the movie Trainspotting and instantly wanted to heat the black stuff in a spoon and then inject it into my veins.Dilbert_X wrote:
a) AFAIK heroin dealers don't really do marketing, at least not on TV. I suppose they may give away toys, dunno.JohnG@lt wrote:
Or, take responsibility for yourselves and your children and stop blaming shit on other people. "The big bad marketing people got me to shoot heroin into my veins and now I'm addicted. Fuck!" You have free will. No one is forcing you to buy anything.
b) Marketing to children and adults are two different things.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
You don't have much experience with kids do you?FM wrote:
Our will power is so weak we bitch about a candy bar sitting on a shelf near where we will stand for up to five minutes, ohhh the temptation.
Yes, that was part of a carefully crafted, researched by psychologists and market tested multi-billion dollar marketing campaign financed by a consortium of Afghan warlords and under-written by Afghan govt subsidiesJG wrote:
I watched the movie Trainspotting and instantly wanted to heat the black stuff in a spoon and then inject it into my veins.
Last edited by Dilbert_X (2010-04-30 06:57:16)
Fuck Israel
A Happy Meal was a treat for me as a child. It might happen on a Saturday morning that my mom or dad would take me to get one. Did the world end? No. Did I get fat from it? No. Did I want fast food for the toy? No, I liked the soda/orange drink. All the toy did was convince me as a child that I wanted McDonald's over Wendy's or Burger King. That, and the play lands and Grimace and Ronald McDonald etc were all appealing as a child.Jaekus wrote:
You can't deny the fact that advertising campaigns work though.JohnG@lt wrote:
Or, take responsibility for yourselves and your children and stop blaming shit on other people. "The big bad marketing people got me to shoot heroin into my veins and now I'm addicted. Fuck!" You have free will. No one is forcing you to buy anything.Dilbert_X wrote:
Fine, let kids smoke from the age of five.
Put whisky ads on during Sesame Street.
They're designed to influence, and on children who are very easily influenced and live very much in the now, for them to harass a stressed parent till they get what they want, and market it simultaneously towards said parent by being sooooooo convenient (drive thru, cheap, quick), well really that shit does work.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
well i dont agree that hamburgers are unhealthy so.......Dilbert_X wrote:
I wouldn't expect a responsible parent to feed their kids curry as a substitute for a meal either.
Nor would a responsible curry house hand out Pokemon cards to get kids through the door.
Sure, you're free to detail your own subjective example, whilst I'm pointing out the bigger picture.JohnG@lt wrote:
A Happy Meal was a treat for me as a child. It might happen on a Saturday morning that my mom or dad would take me to get one. Did the world end? No. Did I get fat from it? No. Did I want fast food for the toy? No, I liked the soda/orange drink. All the toy did was convince me as a child that I wanted McDonald's over Wendy's or Burger King. That, and the play lands and Grimace and Ronald McDonald etc were all appealing as a child.Jaekus wrote:
You can't deny the fact that advertising campaigns work though.JohnG@lt wrote:
Or, take responsibility for yourselves and your children and stop blaming shit on other people. "The big bad marketing people got me to shoot heroin into my veins and now I'm addicted. Fuck!" You have free will. No one is forcing you to buy anything.
They're designed to influence, and on children who are very easily influenced and live very much in the now, for them to harass a stressed parent till they get what they want, and market it simultaneously towards said parent by being sooooooo convenient (drive thru, cheap, quick), well really that shit does work.
bigger picture? this is one little area on the left coast.Jaekus wrote:
Sure, you're free to detail your own subjective example, whilst I'm pointing out the bigger picture.
Actually, cut down on obesity, you cut down on peoples hospital bills, you cut down on taxes. Everyone wins. Except the fast food giants.
lol another person who thinks fast food......pace51 wrote:
Actually, cut down on obesity, you cut down on peoples hospital bills, you cut down on taxes. Everyone wins. Except the fast food giants.
unless you eat organic food, you are eating shit. and those restaurants that people go to are just as bad or worse.
Last edited by 11 Bravo (2010-04-30 07:04:56)
Well no, but I do have experience being a kid, and both my parents telling me to stfu when I wanted a candy bar.Dilbert_X wrote:
You don't have much experience with kids do you?FM wrote:
Our will power is so weak we bitch about a candy bar sitting on a shelf near where we will stand for up to five minutes, ohhh the temptation.
Actually they never really did that, we just didn't buy candy like that. Maybe 10 times in my life have my parents bought me candy in that situation, and I certainly didn't ask. If they're going to buy me something, they will do it. I don't remember doing a whole lot of nagging.
ding ding, the marketing strategy of mcdonalds that i spoke about.JohnG@lt wrote:
A Happy Meal was a treat for me as a child. It might happen on a Saturday morning that my mom or dad would take me to get one. Did the world end? No. Did I get fat from it? No. Did I want fast food for the toy? No, I liked the soda/orange drink. All the toy did was convince me as a child that I wanted McDonald's over Wendy's or Burger King. That, and the play lands and Grimace and Ronald McDonald etc were all appealing as a child.Jaekus wrote:
You can't deny the fact that advertising campaigns work though.JohnG@lt wrote:
Or, take responsibility for yourselves and your children and stop blaming shit on other people. "The big bad marketing people got me to shoot heroin into my veins and now I'm addicted. Fuck!" You have free will. No one is forcing you to buy anything.
They're designed to influence, and on children who are very easily influenced and live very much in the now, for them to harass a stressed parent till they get what they want, and market it simultaneously towards said parent by being sooooooo convenient (drive thru, cheap, quick), well really that shit does work.
"that i wanted mcdonalds over wendy's or burger king".
"ronald mcdonald"
these are all carefully researched and constructed artifices that exist only for the purpose of sowing seeds in impressionable and developing children's minds. this is the sort of tactic that the legislation is trying to ban. whether or not you want to admit it, the fact that you even look back on experiencing of mcdonalds with happy-nostalgia is testament to the fact that their strategy works. in today's market, anything making someone predisposed or inclined to buy something unhealthy or not-to-their-best-interest should be banned. let mcdonalds lure you into their chains with appetizing images of their glorious cuisine... not a happy smiling clown brandishing free balloons and worthless gimmicky toys.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
So the hamburger industry already had you and your family sucked into the idea a burger meal was a good choice for a treat, it was just product differentiation at that stage?JohnG@lt wrote:
A Happy Meal was a treat for me as a child. It might happen on a Saturday morning that my mom or dad would take me to get one. Did the world end? No. Did I get fat from it? No. Did I want fast food for the toy? No, I liked the soda/orange drink. All the toy did was convince me as a child that I wanted McDonald's over Wendy's or Burger King. That, and the play lands and Grimace and Ronald McDonald etc were all appealing as a child.
Fuck Israel
Ronald McDonald scared the living shit out of me TBH.Uzique wrote:
let mcdonalds lure you into their chains with appetizing images of their glorious cuisine... not a happy smiling clown brandishing free balloons and worthless gimmicky toys.
Fuck Israel
boy i would hate to have your anal retentive ass as a parent.
...yes, fast food was a treat, and I liked McDonald's better than the other places.
Also, I called it orange drink too and it was legit.
OKAY GUYS, we don't want you to feel pressured into buying anything because we know your spines are of Jell-O gelatin, and we want to make sure all the companies get their fair shot at this, so when you want product x we're just going to spin the wheel of producers for product x and you'll buy from wherever the spinner lands.
This makes me nauseous.
Also, I called it orange drink too and it was legit.
What a fucking joke.Uzique wrote:
in today's market, anything making someone predisposed or inclined to buy something unhealthy or not-to-their-best-interest should be banned.
OKAY GUYS, we don't want you to feel pressured into buying anything because we know your spines are of Jell-O gelatin, and we want to make sure all the companies get their fair shot at this, so when you want product x we're just going to spin the wheel of producers for product x and you'll buy from wherever the spinner lands.
This makes me nauseous.
You'd have grown up healthier and less ignorant at least.11 Bravo wrote:
boy i would hate to have your anal retentive ass as a parent.
Parents aren't there just to be liked - this is part of the problem, they think they are and so do their kids.
Last edited by Dilbert_X (2010-04-30 07:13:51)
Fuck Israel
i am healthy. and i doubt that second part.Dilbert_X wrote:
You'd have grown up healthier and less ignorant at least.11 Bravo wrote:
boy i would hate to have your anal retentive ass as a parent.
Of course they are. But you missed the entire point that it was a special occasion that didn't happen very often. If I whined or cried that I wanted McDonald's there was no way in hell they would take me. It was a treat. All the marketing did was help choose between which fast food restaurant to visit. It didn't dictate that I was going to eat there every day.Uzique wrote:
ding ding, the marketing strategy of mcdonalds that i spoke about.JohnG@lt wrote:
A Happy Meal was a treat for me as a child. It might happen on a Saturday morning that my mom or dad would take me to get one. Did the world end? No. Did I get fat from it? No. Did I want fast food for the toy? No, I liked the soda/orange drink. All the toy did was convince me as a child that I wanted McDonald's over Wendy's or Burger King. That, and the play lands and Grimace and Ronald McDonald etc were all appealing as a child.Jaekus wrote:
You can't deny the fact that advertising campaigns work though.
They're designed to influence, and on children who are very easily influenced and live very much in the now, for them to harass a stressed parent till they get what they want, and market it simultaneously towards said parent by being sooooooo convenient (drive thru, cheap, quick), well really that shit does work.
"that i wanted mcdonalds over wendy's or burger king".
"ronald mcdonald"
these are all carefully researched and constructed artifices that exist only for the purpose of sowing seeds in impressionable and developing children's minds. this is the sort of tactic that the legislation is trying to ban. whether or not you want to admit it, the fact that you even look back on experiencing of mcdonalds with happy-nostalgia is testament to the fact that their strategy works. in today's market, anything making someone predisposed or inclined to buy something unhealthy or not-to-their-best-interest should be banned. let mcdonalds lure you into their chains with appetizing images of their glorious cuisine... not a happy smiling clown brandishing free balloons and worthless gimmicky toys.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
dilbert i bet you are fat. i bet you blame the world for being fat, and not yourself.