The Taste Of A Brand

A recent study asked children to taste two items of food, and tell researchers which they liked the best. The only difference in the food was that one was in a McDonald's wrapper and one was in a plain white wrapper. The results clearly showed that children preferred the McDonald's branded item to the non-branded item (ironically the exception to this was the classic McDonald's hamburger). The big revelation of this study is that branding works.

Anti-corporate groups are using this study to try to limit the marketing that companies do. They say it unfairly targets our children.

I say get a life.

I have two young children. They like McDonald's. That doesn't mean they get it, though. It's the parents responsibility to say no. When did parents become so weak-willed that they can be out-argued by a two year old? It's not the company's responsibility to feed a child. It's not the government's responsibility; it's the parent's responsibility. Proponents of a nanny state argue that a parent can't possibly win in the face of billions of dollars in marketing. That's preposterous. Parents control the purse strings. All they have to do is not buy what they don't want their child to have.

These same organizations who whine about marketing causing obesity in children are the same organizations that forced schools to cut back on competitive games like dodgeball because it was harming kids' egos. Nurturing your child is wonderful. Coddling them is not. You can't have it both ways. Either they play competitive sports or they get fat. Marketing doesn't enter into it.