The goal of a typical childhood obesity prevention marketing campaign* is to repeatedly expose kids to a catchy slogan, which in turn is intended to influence their decision making when it comes to nutrition and exercise choices. In other words, this marketing campaign designed to compete with the fast and processed food industries that are made up of a plethora of deep pocketed corporations with decades of experience in preaching a message that’s successfully sold the world on the poor eating and exercise habits that have resulted in the 21st century obesity epidemic.
Disadvantaged Right Out of the Gate
And like their competition, childhood obesity prevention marketing campaigns require a team of marketing pros to create them, literature, radio and TV spots, newspaper and magazine ad slicks and space, air time, supporting websites, celebrities when possible, not to mention a substantial budget. However, regardless of their budget size, it’s inevitably dwarfed by the collective budgets of their competition. So right out of the gate they’re handicapped on two fronts, experience and budgetary muscle.
Indoctrinating Through Sheer Repetition
The goal of childhood obesity prevention marketing campaigns is not so much to inspire or educate as it is to indoctrinate through power of sheer repetition (can anyone say propaganda) childhood obesity into submission. Let me repeat, the goal is to repeatedly expose kids, over and over again to the same catchy slogan (message) in such a way that in sinks deep into the subconscious and becomes part of the decision making process of future generations. At least that’s how the theory goes.
Where Marketing Campaigns Really Fall Short
Where all these childhood obesity prevention marketing campaigns really fall short though is in their inability to get down in the trenches with individual kids who are wrestling with individual problems and are in need of individual attention from individual adults who care enough to help them develop the strength to fend off the systematic poisons of today’s 21st century culture. Instead, they’re mass produced, designed to be mass consumed, mass measured, and mass justified in precisely the same ways that the fast and processed food hucksters mass market their fat and sugar laced food.
Failed Miserably
To date however, the strategy of marketing childhood obesity into submission has failed miserably. To date, the marketing pros in the fast and processed food industries chuckle at these relative amateurs who actually think they can compete in the mass media with an army of experts who have successfully infiltrated the collective psyche of our modern, high tech, mass produced culture. They’re fleas on the elephant’s back.
If We Want to Win…
In other words, if we want to have any chance of turning the tide and winning the war on childhood obesity we’re going to have to get creative, individualized, customized, and we’re going to have to develop a hands on gorilla strategy that goes directly to the individual kids and gives them the tools they need to resist and eventually destroy the destructive influences that actively undermine their lives whether its junk food, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or meaningless work. Marketing the beast into submission has failed.
*Here’s a summary of one typical childhood obesity prevention marketing campaign on which its sponsor spent big bucks. Check out their lackluster, put me to sleep, MILK TOAST RESULTS and you’ll see one reason why, despite spending big bucks, we continue to lose the war against childhood obesity.
Outcomes of the 5-4-3-2-1 go! Childhood obesity community trial.
SourceThe George Washington University, Wasington, DC 20037, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine effects of the 5-4-3-2-1 Go! community social marketing campaign on obesity risk factors.
METHODS: We randomly assigned 524 parents of 3- to 7-year-old children to receive 5-4-3-2-1 Go! counseling or not. We surveyed parents about 5-4-3-2-1 Go! behaviors and perceptions of children's behaviors at baseline and one year later. We conducted multivariable logistic regression for each outcome.
RESULTS: Parents who received counseling consumed more fruits and vegetables at follow-up (OR 1.749, [95% CI: 1.01-3.059]). Parental exposure to messaging at children's school events was associated with higher water consumption (6.879, [1.954-24.212]).
CONCLUSIONS: 5-4-3-2-1 Go! is a promising intervention.
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