Value Menus: Bad Health and Bad Business

I've been thinking about food advertising a lot lately. Bad thoughts.

On Saturday I moderated a panel on Food and Diet Advertising at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Advertising in San Mateo, Calif. Five excellent papers were presented, and the picture is grim.

Recently former Indiana colleagues of mine from Indiana University performed a large-scale content analysis on food advertising.

In May, my lab group and other Texas Tech colleagues will present research on rural Hispanics and diabetes at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association in Montreal, Canada.

During that research project, we learned that fast food value menu items were a substantial cause of problem. Unfortunately for public health, value menus solve two problems: time and money.

You can eat quickly and inexpensively on the dollar menu. Unfortunately, it's bad for your health.

All of which is a long introduction to explain the joy I had today when I opened the Advertising Age that came in the mail to see the headline "Value Menus Cost Operators Dearly: Burger King franchisee in New York shutters stores, blames dollar offerings."

Thousands of people will die prematurely -- and society will pay countless dollars in public health bills -- because of these value menus. I am glad to see that value menus are becoming bad business for the franchisees.

Intersection: Media, Hispanics, Diabetes

From "DDB Begins McSkillet Campaign" on Adweek.com:

NEW YORK Jack cheeses, red and green peppers, onions and salsa are now on McDonald's morning menu. Looking to grow its already dominant presence in the profitable breakfast category, McDonald's unveiled the McSkillet Burrito.

The product, priced at $2.49, launches nationwide today [November 27, 2007]. Three TV spots begin airing tonight. The spots play up the McSkillet Burrito's savory ingredients as well as the portability benefit of burritos.

...
Spanish-language ads will also air. "Tortilla-based products have a particular appeal for our Hispanic customers and they are very important to [our business]," said [CMO Bill] Lamar.

Lovely. A quick check of the nutrition facts show that one sausage McSkillet Burrito has 610 calories and 36 grams of fat. That equals 59% of your recommended daily fat intake and 69% of your recommended daily saturated fat intake (14 grams). Also -- just for fun -- 137% of your recommended daily cholesterol.

And we wonder why people are beginning to call obesity and diabetes a health epidemic.

Obesity, Diabetes Continue Toll on U.S.

From the Associated Press today:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans are living longer than ever, but not as long as people in 41 other countries.

For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles.
...

Among the other factors:

•Adults in the United States have one of the highest obesity rates in the world. Nearly a third of U.S. adults 20 years and older are obese, while about two-thirds are overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Although the AP story does not mention it, many of the problems with obesity are due to diabetes related complications.

A graduate student recently predicted that perhaps in 20 years we will look at carbonated soft drink manufacturers the way we look at tobacco companies today. As these data continue to emerge, this looks increasingly likely.

Anti-Diabetes PSA Filming Concludes

Now more than ever I appreciate how much work goes into a 30-second commercial.

Wow.

Thanks to all of the great people who helped with this project, especially the citizens turned actors and actresses who recited their lines time and time again.

Also thanks to local production house Digital Base Productions, which did a great job.

Having Fun Shooting Anti-Diabetes PSAs