Preschoolers lovin’ it
Posted
August 7, 2007 at
7:56 am by
Prescott
A study from the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine purports that kids as young as three years old have their perception of taste “physically altered by…branding,” specifically McDonald’s:
Anything made by McDonald’s tastes better, preschoolers said in a study that powerfully demonstrates how advertising can trick the taste buds of young children.
Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids if it was wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches.
The study had youngsters sample identical McDonald’s foods in name-brand or unmarked wrappers. The unmarked foods always lost the taste test.
The kids that participated in the study were 63 three to five year olds from low-income families that attend Head Start centers in San Mateo, California. The study author, Dr. Tom Robinson, “believes” the outcome would be the same no matter what the income level of the family.
Sure to spark another shit storm of lawsuits and cries for advertising bans, one person offers a dissenting view:
Pradeep Chintagunta, a University of Chicago marketing professor, said a fairer comparison might have gauged kids’ preferences for the McDonald’s label versus another familiar brand, such as Mickey Mouse.
“I don’t think you can necessarily hold this against” McDonald’s, he said, since the goal of marketing is to build familiarity and sell products.
He noted that parents play a strong role in controlling food choices for children so young.
All I know is I’m heading down to our local Mickey D’s to see if they’ll sell me a box full of wrappers — it finally might be the way I get my kids to eat my tofu and veggie lasagna.
Tags: children, marketing, mcdonalds, News-&-Politics |
12 Responses to “Preschoolers lovin’ it”
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1. Allison said:
August 7, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
I am soooo remebering Eddie Murphy’s “Raw” stand-up show when he said his mom tried to make a burger “better than McDonald’s”.
…”McDonald’s don’t use green peppers!…..”
2. Susan said:
August 7, 2007 @ 6:46 pm
“…He noted that parents play a strong role in controlling food choices for children so young.”
That’s it, that’s it! We’ve had a breakthrough!
I hope by now parents understand they CAN turn off the TV commercials, and they DON’T have to take their kids to McD’s or anywhere else if they feel their kiddies’ taste buds will fall under an evil spell. I for one flew my broom over to Mickey D’s tonight with my 2 children - knowingly and willingly…and praising Mother Capitalism I didn’t have to cook.
3. Petulant Pixie said:
August 8, 2007 @ 7:12 am
We never have McDonald’s, my kids just don’t like burgers and fries. But, we do the Chipotle and Noodles & Co (they’re right next to each other) so often that a couple of weeks ago, I had gotten myself a burrito and was just going to make Liz something else for lunch and she threw a HOLY FIT. She saw my aluminum foil wrapped two ton burrito and demanded to know where her macaroni and cheese was. I had a hard time explaining that the burrito doesn’t actually come with macaroni and cheese, they’re two different places. She didn’t get it, but eventually got over the injustice.
4. Petulant Pixie said:
August 8, 2007 @ 7:15 am
But, I need to add….that doesn’t mean that my kids, really never having had McDonald’s still wouldn’t decide that the food in the McD’s bag tasted better. I haven’t read the whole study, but I would bet it has AS MUCH to do with the appeal of the bag itself (the advertisements, and colors and whatnot) as the association with the brand. I’ll have to look more into that study. Were the “unmarked” bags just plain white bags, or did they have decorations on them, just not brand specific? I need to find out more….
5. Petulant Pixie said:
August 8, 2007 @ 7:19 am
Yeah, it said “plain unmarked bag”, that’s not a fair study. They’d need to have a comparable bag just without the brand name on it to really find results. We ALL know that food presentation has a big impact on perceived taste, so that shouldn’t be surprising at all that little kids especially would be swayed by a decorated bag vs a non-decorated bag. I think this study missed the boat, sadly, that should have been controlled for.
6. Prescott said:
August 8, 2007 @ 7:32 am
7. Jessica said:
August 8, 2007 @ 9:03 am
[quote comment="103357"]I for one flew my broom over to Mickey D’s tonight with my 2 children - knowingly and willingly…and praising Mother Capitalism I didn’t have to cook.[/quote]
That is hilarious! Sometimes convenience in life is worth the minimal risk of eating a fast food nugget or hamburger once in a while. Last time I checked, nobody has died of from a weekly or monthly 6-piece.
People just need to use common sense.
8. Petulant Pixie said:
August 8, 2007 @ 10:11 am
I don’t know if you can “postulate” for that. That was just a huge error in the design of the study and it should have been controlled for. It may be that kids would still prefer the McD’s bagged stuff, but it might not have been such a big preference. There’s no way of knowing unless you do it right.
9. Snuffles said:
August 11, 2007 @ 1:27 am
We live close enough to a Mc D’s that my 4 yr old can see it from our house. He asks to eat there EVERY day. Finally, i just started saving the bags and the cleanest wrappers I could find. When he won’t eat dinner and throws his tantrums, I just wrap up whatever we’re eating, put it in the bag and he’s happy. Works for me, works for him and we’re all happy.
10. Snuffles said:
August 11, 2007 @ 1:31 am
OK, I just re-read my post. Let me clarify something… When I said I would save the cleanest wrapper I could find, I didn’t mean I was looking in the public garbage cans. I meant that when we bought Mc D’s, I would save the cleanest of OUR wrappers (not strangers’ garbage! LOL), wash them and then re-use them later. Ok, just wanted to make that clear. LOL
11. Jessica said:
August 11, 2007 @ 7:35 am
[quote comment="103788"]OK, I just re-read my post. Let me clarify something… When I said I would save the cleanest wrapper I could find, I didn’t mean I was looking in the public garbage cans. I meant that when we bought Mc D’s, I would save the cleanest of OUR wrappers (not strangers’ garbage! LOL), wash them and then re-use them later. Ok, just wanted to make that clear. LOL[/quote]
Snuffles is garbage picking! Ew, gross!
(I knew what you meant.)
12. Snuffles said:
August 16, 2007 @ 11:41 am
I’m glad you knew what I meant. lol I knew what I wanted to say, it just didn’t come across the right way. lol Thanks for reading my mind Jess!