Kahoua Yang
Barak Zierhut
Maichao Xiong
Richard Ziegler
Eric Schlosser talks about a few types of marketing strategy from Walt Disney and McDonald’s. The first one he mentions is “synergy”. This was one way Walt Disney gained profit, by licensing agreements with his products. He then later went off to television to market to children. After that, they went on to another type of marketing strategy called “cradle-to-grave” hoping that “childhood memories of a brand will lead to a lifetime of purchases.” Mc Donald’s thought of ways to get kids to eat there by collaborating with other companies by selling their toys with happy meals or by making a mascot that would catch a child’s eye. Not just that but they even went on to create “Playlands”. Ronald and Mickey all smiles and having fun may be more appealing to the kids than the food itself at times. Kids are easier to manipulate than adults a lot of the time and don't ask questions when a commercial makes something look really cool. Also the atmosphere of the restaurant (big arches, play places, etc...) Our author clearly states that, advertisements and "fun" mascots, for companies like McDonalds and Disneyland are created to manipulate our children into thinking how fun it is to eat there or be there. Once children sees the excitement on the ads with loveable characters, they are convinced that that is what they want. Our author also mentions that, many working parents who feel guilty about spending very little time with there children are more likely to spend more money on them. This causes a problem for the children, because once they are able to get by their parents they will keep taking the same approach to get what they want. Sometimes this approach can cause children to become picky eaters and fast food will soon be all the eat. Comparing Schlosser and Zinczenko: Zinczenko states that the children should not be blamed for wanting to eat at fast food because they have no alternatives and that most of the time, the children has no idea how much calorie they are taking in. Like Schlosser, Zinczenko blames advertisements, for food doesn't carry warning labels like tobacco does. =Compared to Susie Orbachs "far out" view on feminism and weight, and radleys/johns strong on-sided argument, it seems to be the most level headed (in my opinion). Instead of blaming the corporate machine for making us "fat", or claiming that it’s "our fault" for eating fast food, he focuses on the tight knit marketing strategies Mc Donald’s uses. John H. Banzhaf argues, in his story “Lawsuits against fast-food restaurants” that "legal action could be a powerful weapon against the public health problem of obesity". See, this all comes after the fact. The real issue is that because children are taught to "love, cherish, and seek knowledge" from characters like "Mickey Mouse" and "Ronald McDonald", they develop a quick brand reference to fast food at a very early age.
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