Marketing strategies that make you mad

What about when KFC for awhile was trying to advertise their chicken as a health food because of the Atkins craze. I don't care what you diet is deep fat fried chicken is not healthy!!!

Monday, October 1, 2007, 11:05 PM

What about when KFC for awhile was trying to advertise their chicken as a health food because of the Atkins craze. I don't care what you diet is deep fat fried chicken is not healthy!!!

Monday, October 1, 2007, 11:05 PM

How about the way every pharmacy has the Alli video and products screaming at you from the check-out.

Monday, October 1, 2007, 11:37 PM

How about all the fat guys at the diner complaining about heartburn as they have plates of chili cheese fries in front of them? No need to change the diet - take a Tums!!

Monday, October 1, 2007, 11:54 PM

haha i love this thread b/c i get so annoyed with some products lately. okay, so i hope no one attacks me for this, but i can't stand those yogurts and now cheese out there that will help regulate your digestive system. doesn't plain yogurt work?? i have more examples, but can't think right now.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 12:13 AM

not food related:
women huffing straight from Febreze cans as they coat their home with perfume

food related:
1. pre-made meals, complete with meat and veggies all in a bag! Is peeling carrots or steaming broccoli so hard to do these days?
2. those smoothie commercials where the parent accidentally breaks the child's toy, then before the kid starts crying the parent dumps milk and a powder mix into the blender and stuffs the milkshake in the kid's hand. Talk about training a kid to emotionally binge!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 1:37 AM

I think it's Danon who's offering to donate money to breast cancer when you mail them the foil top off the yogurt. Appalls me. I'm going to spend more mailing them than Danon will donate, and I'll pay more for the yogurt so they donate less. Those who don't normally buy the yogurt are better off to just donate money directly themselves.

And "whole grain" advertisements- yup, lucky charms has whole grains, so we should make it a part of our diet!!

Or pre-made maple leaf chicken strips that have as the second ingredient corn syrup.

And I agree with the active bacterial culture push on yogurt and cheeses...

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 2:36 AM

1:37-

i'm not looking to pick an argument, but yes sometimes it's too much time to peel carrots and steam broccoli. i'm thankful those meals are out there. i barely have time to eat lately and if those weren't around i'd be in a drive-thru eating on the run like i used to do that got me fat in the first place. i have very little time with working a full time job, graduate school and keeping my house in check, thank you for frozen meals!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 8:35 AM

Ditto 8:35 - I hate vegetables and if there weren't products out there that make preparing/cooking them relatively painless, I'd never have anything but lettuce and tomato.

Other marketing ploys - how about that new Diet Coke packed with vitamins? Not really complaining about it though... I've often thought that lots of products could be painlessly enriched with things we don't get enough of (cereals, orange juice, and diet shakes like Slimfast seem to be the only products that do this).

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 9:43 AM

The cute little girl playing dress up and the 'good' mom doing all the right things and then they go to McDonalds.

The Lean Cuisine commercials where the women who ate the bag of popcorn for dinner glare at the woman who had some fabulous LC concoction.

All the fast food places that promote how much their menu items weigh!! A pound of food?? UGH!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 10:05 AM

There is a diet pill commercial that says, "we wouldn't say it on television if it weren't true". This is what they said about their claims that you don't have to change your way eating and still lose the weight.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 10:06 AM

bump

i don't want to hijack this thread but i'm a graduate marketing student (i'm 8:35) and this thread really intrigues me to see what types of food advertising affects different people and why. i'd like to use this thread as a jumping off point for a small presentation. so any other food or diet commercials that get your goat and why are much appreciated!!!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 11:58 PM

Amen 2:36 - yeah, Lucky charms are healthy if they have whole grains! That's probably the one that makes me yell at the screen most often.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 12:16 AM

How about all the candy with packaging that shouts "FAT FREE" - not sure which ones still do, but Jolly Ranchers, Jelly Bellys, Gummi Bears, Starbursts, etc. spring to mind. My grandmother got totally sucked into the low-fat fad in the 90s and practically lived on Good 'n' Plenties and Mike & Ikes for 2 months.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 12:22 AM

How many people really use hamburger helper as a side to a salad? I can't stand HH as it's just noodles and beef- no veggies, but we call it a meal...

I don't think they're doing it anymore, but the "all natural" commercial for 7up? Puh-lease!!! Just because HFCS comes from corn, it doesn't make it "all natural".

OH, and personally, I get LIVID over health check symbols. I'm supposed to trust Pepsi to tell me when my food meets FDA guidelines? I don't trust the FDA, let alone Pepsico.

And subway commercials- eat fresh? How long has that sandwich meat been around? 6 subs ubder 6 grams of fat? Sandwich without mayo? It's like a catholic without guilt.

Those nauseating Kellog's Commercials with the chick who wears red and the effeminate male- it's like we're now trying to make sure that gay men have the same body issues women do....

that's enough for now... let me watch more TV and I'll have more...

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 1:23 AM

Here's one......I can't purchase any sports, hunting, or health magazine without being bombarded by "male enhancement" ads. It would seem that every male in the U.S. suffers from E.D.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 3:44 AM

Smarties

Here in Ireland, the advert for Smarties (a chocolate sweet similar to m&ms, not what you call Smarties) focuses on it being a great thing to feed your children because... no artificial colours! Whoopie!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 11:25 AM

And in the UK I was amazed at the recent Nutella advert which promotes itself as both healthy generally and aimed at children in particular, which are two marketing demons in one advert as far as I can see! Nothing like a thick smear of sugar and vegetable oils (hydrogenated?) before we even get to nuts and cocoa on white sliced as a healthy breakfast, eh?

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 12:21 PM

the commericals for the new "fruit juice" Cheerios! They show an approving mom, happy that her kids are eating healthy. Well I went to the store and looked at the ingredients on the box! In the first four ingredients are sugar and corn syrup! 9g of sugar per 27g serving!

Link

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 2:34 PM

On the Cherio topic. Don't waste your money. They taste terrible. I bought some that were on sale for an art project with my toddler class and tasted them. YUCK!!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 2:41 PM

What about all the diet pill (and not pill) products in print ads that show the "before" and "after"?!...um, was it the weight loss that made the 'losers' learn to stand up straight, get a sunkissed tan and a great new haircut??

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 4:05 PM

Natural?

Loving this by the way...

One of my favorites is the "natural cut fries" from I think it is jack in the box. Ok so I don't eat fast food because I know that eating french fries regardless of how they are cut does not make them natural. THEY ARE DEEP FRIED! Too bad the FDA hasn't defined "natural" because, correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure jack in the box wouldnt qualify. It was great for jack in the crack because i am sure they charged more, made their fries seeeeeem healthier and actually reduced their production costs, being as they didnt have to peel the potatoes! Good stuff!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 4:38 PM

My mom keeps on buying junk food like ding dongs and chips because guess what people - "No Trans Fat". I really think the whole no trans fat craze confuses people - so it doesn't raise your bad cholesterol anymore, but it still saturated fat. Ahhgg!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 4:57 PM

4:57 LOL and they ARE still ding dongs! Ahh...the memories of childhood!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 5:07 PM

I'm convinced the whole anti-oxidant craze (and many, many people on here are guilty of this thinking...occasionally me included) is just handing people an excuse to gobble down dark chocolate and red wine.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 5:48 PM

October 3 - 12:21

YES! The Nutella ads drive me insane! I've see Olymians hocking the stuff in adverts. Pretty shameful.

Thursday, October 4, 2007, 11:26 AM

I agree with 5:48 from 10/3. I'm sure there are antioxidants in dark chocolate and red wine, but now we have Snickers dark chocolate, M&M's dark chocolate, etc. And I'm sure there are some borderline alcoholics drinking more than enough wine because of the "antioxidants."

Give me a break!

Sunday, October 7, 2007, 1:27 PM

The commercials for Nutrisystem. Or in fact any other "we'll process foods and send them to your door" type thing.

Uh, why don't people realize that they're NOT learning healthy eating habits that way? If you're obsese and gorge yourself on chocolate cake, and lose weight because someone now sends you super processed chocolate cake, you're not going to keep that weight off unless you live off that service for the rest of you life.

I've seen it happen to about 54353 people close to me who decided to make fun of me for losing weight the "hard old fashined way". You know..running more...portion control...staying away from certain foods.

So yeah..they bragged that they were eating "lasagna" and "choclate cake" while I was eating steamed veggies and lean cuts of meats.

I'm 10 lbs from my goal. They lost all of theirs 2 montth ago and have all gained at least half of it back..one girl is heavier.

HAH.

Sunday, October 7, 2007, 1:51 PM

ok, is it just me, or has Dove gone a little to far with their "Celebration of Natural Beauty" campaign. I mean, after all, it reall yis just another marketing ploy, like any other, albeit a very good and though-out one. I mean, they are still selling the same exact products as any other beauty company. The same wrinkle fighters, voluminizing, straightening, etc. shampoos, softening skin lotion, self-tanners, etc. and everytthing else, yet they are still pushing this theory about not changing anything about yourself because you are beautiful as you are. They even got into the whole weight thing. But how in the world do soaps and lotions have anything to do with weight I ask???? I think they are taking it a bit too far.

Sunday, October 7, 2007, 5:11 PM

I think it should be illegal the way a lot of companies are adding vitamins and minerals to junk food and convince consumers that it is healthy..

Sunday, October 7, 2007, 5:40 PM

I just noticed yesterday -- this one made me angry. The Jimmy Dean breakfast commercial, where the Sun goes to work, and his coworker the Rainbow walks in (in black & white) and says she is on a "special cereal diet." So he gives her this breakfast sausage/muffin thing, and her color comes back! She didn't say what kind of cereal, but chances are it was a lot healthier than that sausage muffin thing!

Sunday, October 7, 2007, 5:59 PM

I'm sure the rainbow was referring to the Special K diet

Sunday, October 7, 2007, 6:47 PM

ok - here's one!

I was looking at the campbell's soups today. There was a regular chunky chicken noodle, and a "diet" type chunky chicken noodle, the diet one claiming to be with less sodium, and be 98 % fat free. I looked on the nutrition facts, and in fact, both have 110 calories per serving ( 2 servings per can), and actually the regfular one had 20 of the calories from fat, while the diet one had 30 of the calories from fat. ummm....tell me how this is the diet version? check it out yourself...

Sunday, October 7, 2007, 7:09 PM

bump

Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 11:52 PM

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