Berkowitz  1   Meg  Berkowitz   Professor  Baillargeon   Writing  50   9  June  2014   Trix  Aren’t  For  Kids   Introduction     When  discussing  the  repercussions  and  causes  of  obesity  in  America,  rarely  do  we   consider  characters  like  Tony  the  Tiger,  Lucky  the  Leprechaun,  and  Tricks  the  Trix  Rabbit.   However,  these  characters  and  other  cereal  mascots  represent  an  ever-­‐growing  presence  of   junk  food  advertisements  marketed  toward  young  children.  As  of  2013,  companies  spend   over  $1.5  billion  annually  to  market  unhealthy  foods  to  children  (Kovacic  ES1).  As  this   number  climbs,  so  do  the  percentages  of  overweight  and  obese  children  and  adults  in   America:  31.8%  of  children  and  adolescents  and  a  staggering  68.5%  of  adults  (Odgen  808).   Not  surprisingly,  there  is  overwhelming  data  to  show  that  obese  children  often  become   obese  adults  (Vanhala  319).  Therefore,  we  must  consider  the  factors  that  push  children  to   become  obese  in  order  to  combat  the  overall  levels  of  obesity  in  America.  There  are  many   contributing  factors  to  the  increasing  trends  of  childhood  obesity.  Among  these  include  a   non-­‐active  lifestyle  due  to  the  lack  of  Physical  Education  programs  in  schools;  increased   sedentary  activity  at  home;  race  and  socioeconomic  status;  and  influence  from  the  media  to   consume  unhealthy  foods  (Brownback  220).  In  this  paper,  I  will  explore  the  impact  that  the   exposure  to  junk  food  marketing  has  on  children’s  health.  To  avoid  confusion,  I  will  refer  to   kids  (both  actors  and  animated  characters)  in  the  advertisements  as  “kids”  and  the  young   viewers  of  these  advertisements  as  “children.” Berkowitz  2   I  will  examine  the  effect  that  sugar  cereal  advertisements  have  on  children,  as  the   implications  surrounding  this  food  act  as  a  microcosm  for  the  other  many  foods  in  the  junk   food  advertising  industry.  Overall,  there  are  three  important  aspects  to  consider.  First,   cereal  marketers  use  clever  advertising  techniques  to  appeal  to  children.  Next,  cereal   advertisements  deceive  children  and  parents  by  implying  that  the  cereals  are  more   nutritious  than  they  are.  Finally,  the  modern  lifestyle  of  American  families  bolsters  cereal   consumption.  I  will  assess  advertisements  from  several  cereal  brands—specifically  Trix,   Cinnamon  Toast  Crunch,  Cap’n  Crunch,  and  Cookie  Crisp—to  demonstrate  that  common   techniques  and  themes  are  used  across  the  entire  industry.  This  commonality  and   repetitiveness  among  junk  food  advertisements  creates  a  massive  and  effective  campaign   for  children  to  desire  unhealthy  foods.  Unless  we  take  action  to  combat  the  normality  of   such  unhealthy  foods  in  children’s  diets,  children  and  parents  alike  will  passively  accept   and  consume  sugary  cereals,  truly  believing  that  nutritionally,  “They’re  gr-­‐r-­‐reat!”     Advertising  Techniques   Cereal  advertisements  use  a  variety  of  techniques  to  appeal  to  children  and  make   them  desire  their  products.  After  viewing  dozens  of  cereal  commercials  for  my  research,  I   have  determined  that  these  techniques  most  often  include  familiar  themes,  exciting   language,  and  memorable  catchphrases.  Rather  than  reporting  the  number  of  occurrences   of  these  techniques  in  commercials  for  various  cereal  brands,  I  will  instead  examine  a  few   specific  commercials  that  represent  the  tendencies  of  the  majority.     Most  cereal  commercials  present  three  main  themes.  The  first  is  a  notion  of   possessiveness;  the  cereal  always  belongs  to  the  kids.  Advertisers  depict  this  concept   through  a  struggle  between  kids  and  the  cereal’s  mascot.  This  theme  occurs  throughout Berkowitz  3   numerous  cereal  advertisements,  including  Lucky  Charms,  Trix,  and  Cookie  Crisp.  For   instance,  in  almost  every  commercial  for  Trix  cereal,  Tricks  the  Trix  Rabbit  tries  to  steal  the   cereal  away  from  a  group  of  kids,  but  they  inevitably  foil  his  plan,  outsmarting  the  Rabbit   and  keeping  the  cereal  for  themselves.  The  kids  then  exclaim,  “Silly  rabbit!  Trix  are  for   kids!”  (TheToyVideos).  Because  both  the  kids  and  the  mascot  go  to  extreme  lengths  to   secure  the  cereal,  this  plot  type  portrays  the  cereal  as  a  desirable  food  that  is  worth   pursuing.  Additionally,  the  slogan  “Trix  are  for  kids”  defines  kids  as  special  and  deserving   of  this  highly  sought  cereal.  The  children  watching  this  commercial  therefore  feel  a  sense  of   pride  that  something  is  made  especially  for  them.  The  overall  happy  demeanor  of  the  kids   in  the  commercials,  the  bright  colors,  and  the  upbeat  music  all  imply  that  it  is  good  and  fun   to  be  a  part  of  this  distinct  group,  which  then  creates  a  desire  in  the  children  viewing  the   commercial  to  consume  this  cereal  so  that  they  can  enjoy  the  benefits  of  their  rightfully   deserved  treat.  Using  themes  of  possessiveness  is  so  effective  because  possession  evokes   children’s  desires  for  efficacy,  or  personal  control,  of  their  environment.  This  desire  to   manipulate  one’s  environment  through  possession  is  present  from  infancy  and  often  grows   stronger  as  a  child  develops  (Furby  33-­‐36).  Since  possession  is  one  of  the  first  social   patterns  children  recognize  in  his  or  her  development,  advertisers  can  employ  it  as  a  theme   to  appeal  to  children—as  young  as  two  years  old—while  still  capturing  the  interest  of  older   children  as  well.  Thus,  advertisers  use  the  easily  recognizable  theme  of  possession  to  create   feelings  of  desire  in  children  who  view  their  commercials.   The  second  theme  promotes  a  rebellious  attitude  to  assure  children  that  their  desire   for  cereal  outweighs  their  parents’  reluctance  to  buy  it  for  them.  One  technique  advertisers   use  to  embody  this  theme  is  by  showing  adults  who  “just  don’t  understand”  why  children Berkowitz  4   love  and  deserve  cereal  so  much.  In  commercials  for  General  Mills’  Cinnamon  Toast  Crunch   cereal,  overbearing  adult  figures  (lifeguards,  school  nurses,  teachers,  etc.)  can  see  almost   everything,  but  they  can’t  see  why  kids  love  Cinnamon  Toast  Crunch.  In  one  commercial,  a   young  girl  sarcastically  introduces  Lance  the  lifeguard,  stretching  out  her  words  and  rolling   her  eyes.  Lance  is  shown  frequently  blowing  his  whistle  at  anyone  who  breaks  the  rules.   She  claims,  “he  sees  everything”  that  happens  in  his  pool,  “but  can  he  can  see  why  kids  love   Cinnamon  Toast  Crunch?”  Lance  responds  in  a  dumb  tone  with  a  silly  one-­‐liner:  “It’s  got,   uhh,  tan  lines?”  The  girl  then  mocks  him  for  his  ridiculous  answer  and  explains  that  kids   love  the  cinnamon  sugar  swirls  they  can  see  (when34567).    The  girl’s  sarcastic  and   taunting  attitude  toward  Lance  exemplifies  a  rejection  of  authority  figures.  The  posse  of   kids  surrounding  her  with  happy  faces  also  demonstrates  the  mentality  that  “everyone  is   doing  it.”  Children  take  from  this  commercial  an  impression  that  rule  enforcers  don’t   understand  why  fun  things  are  enjoyable,  and  therefore  rule  enforcers  have  no  problem   ruining  the  fun  for  everyone.  They  also  learn  that  mocking  authority  figures  is  considered   cool  and  acceptable  amongst  the  kids  in  the  commercial.  This  rejection  of  authority  is  so   appealing  to  children  because  they  “view  positive  emotions  as  resulting  from  desire   fulfillment  and  negative  emotions  as  caused  by  not  getting  what  one  wants.”  This  leads  to   the  conclusion  that  “rule  breakers  feel  good”  because  children  “fail  to  recognize  that  people   can  experience  positive  emotions  after  inhibiting  desires  to  abide  by  rules  or  that  people   can  feel  negative  emotions  after  breaking  rules  to  get  what  they  want”  (Lagattuta  616).   Because  children  inherently  want  to  rebel  against  rules,  the  theme  of  disregarding   authority  in  the  commercials  is  remarkably  appealing.  This  theme  subliminally  lingers  in Berkowitz  5   children’s  minds  as  they  embody  these  attitudes  when  they  try  to  convince  their  parents  to   buy  them  this  cereal.       The  third  theme  is  of  kids  being  transported  to  a  higher  reality  by  consuming  the   advertised  cereal.  For  example,  in  a  commercial  for  Quaker  Oats  Company’s  Cap’n  Crunch   cereal,  two  kids  wonder  aloud  whom  their  babysitter  will  be  that  night,  only  to  be   interrupted  by  the  front  door  opening  and  revealing  their  babysitter,  “Mrs.  Winkler.”  With   eerie  music  playing  and  a  storm  raging  in  the  background,  Mrs.  Winkler  extends  her  finger   at  the  children  and  shouts  her  rules  for  the  night:  “No  playing!  No  jumping  on  couches!  No   loud  music!”  (876toys).  The  kids  are  in  a  dire  situation  here  that  other  children  can   certainly  relate  to.  The  scary  music,  howling  wind,  and  ugly  mole  on  Mrs.  Winkler’s  face   provide  cues  that  the  babysitter  is  a  wicked  manifestation.  Most  children  have  either   experienced  “evil”  babysitters  first-­‐hand,  have  heard  stories  about  them,  or  have  seen  them   portrayed  in  the  media  enough  to  recognize  that  there  is  a  serious  threat  to  fun  happening   here.  To  escalate  this  threat  even  further,  one  of  the  kids  whispers  to  the  other,  “What  if  she   says  ‘No  Cap’n  Crunch’?!”  This  provides  children  an  association  of  Cap’n  Crunch  cereal  with   the  other  fun  things  that  are  at  stake  (playing,  jumping  on  couches,  and  loud  music).  Just   before  Mrs.  Winkler  can  ban  the  kids’  favorite  cereal,  an  animated  Cap’n  Crunch  bursts   through  the  wall  of  the  house  on  his  ship.  He  exclaims,  “Crunchatize!”  as  the  kids  dissolve   into  pieces  of  Cap’n  Crunch  cereal  and  are  transported  into  an  animated  world  on  Cap’n   Crunch’s  ship.  The  now  animated  kids  then  enjoy  a  colorful  dance  party  complete  with   jumping,  disco  balls,  loud  music,  and  a  constant  shower  of  Cap’n  Crunch  cereal.  This   commercial,  along  with  many  others  for  different  cereals,  implies  that  this  sugary  cereal   has  the  ability  to  transport  whoever  eats  it  to  a  better  world,  far  from  fun-­‐sucking Berkowitz  6   situations  brought  on  by  mean  babysitters,  detested  chores,  or  homework.  Even  if  some   children  are  old  enough  to  recognize  that  this  situation  is  impossible,  the  overall   impression  of  the  commercial  still  resounds:  Cap’n  Crunch  cereal  will  make  your  life  better.   Therefore,  this  theme  of  being  transported  to  an  exciting,  animated  world  convinces   children  that  the  cereal  should  be  associated  with  fun,  encouraging  them  to  want  to   consume  it.     Beyond  using  enticing  content  to  appeal  to  children’s  desires,  cereal  commercials   use  exciting  language  to  make  kids  believe  that  the  cereal  is  truly  incredible.  Many   advertisements  use  made-­‐up  words  like  “abso-­‐fruit-­‐alicious”  and  “crispity  crunchity”  to   explain  the  taste  or  texture  of  the  cereal.  These  imagined  words  create  a  silly,  happy  tone   that  is  amplified  by  the  mascots’  goofy  voices.  Children  therefore  associate  the  cereal  with   excitement  and  fun,  and  they  begin  to  desire  the  cereal  so  that  they,  too,  may  experience   what  something  called  “grapity  purple”  might  taste  like.     Similarly,  cereal  advertisements  incorporate  catchphrases  to  ensure  that  children   continue  to  think  about  the  cereal  after  the  advertisement  has  ended.  This  is  a  well-­‐known   advertising  technique,  but  it  is  especially  effective  when  used  on  children  because  of  their   heightened  impressionability.  In  Harry  Wolfe’s  study  on  brand  preference,  he  found  that   slogans  are  extremely  effective  because  they  can  be  used  in  multiple  methods  of   advertising  and  still  be  easily  recognized  (Wolfe  82).  This  is  true  for  cereal  advertising  and   children  today;  children  may  experience  the  same  slogan  via  television  commercial,  radio   commercial,  online  advertisement,  magazine  advertisement,  and  more.  With  repeated   exposure  to  a  slogan  or  brand,  children  are  much  more  likely  to  prefer  and  desire  that   brand. Berkowitz  7   Deceptive  Advertising  for  Healthfulness  of  Cereals   After  capturing  children’s  interest  in  the  cereal,  marketers  deceive  them  and  their   parents  by  implying  the  cereal  is  healthier  than  it  is.  They  do  so  either  directly  or  indirectly   via  advertisements  or  through  misleading  information  on  the  actual  cereal  boxes.     For  instance,  commercials  target  both  parents  and  children  when  directly  claiming   that  their  cereal  has  nutritious  benefits.  The  most  prominent  way  these  advertisements  do   so  is  by  including  a  phrase  like  “part  of  this  nutritious  breakfast”  at  the  end  of  the   commercial.  A  scene  of  the  advertised  cereal  arranged  neatly  among  much  healthier   breakfast  items  always  accompanies  this  narration.  This  elaborate  breakfast  typically   includes  one  or  more  of  the  following:  a  glass  of  milk,  a  glass  of  orange  juice,  a  whole   orange,  a  grapefruit,  strawberries,  and/or  toast.  No  matter  what  the  combination  of  these   items  is,  they  are  always  much  healthier  than  the  cereal  itself.  Even  so,  the  advertisements   imply  that  the  cereal  is  the  most  essential  part  of  the  nutritional  breakfast  by  making  sure   the  cereal  is  the  largest  and  most  prominent  item  amongst  the  breakfast  foods.  Some   commercials  go  so  far  as  to  completely  lie  about  the  nutritious  benefits  of  their  cereals.  For   example,  in  2008  and  2009,  Kellogg’s  Frosted  Mini-­‐Wheats  cereal  advertised  that  it  could   improve  children’s  attentiveness,  memory,  and  other  cognitive  functions,  even  though   there  was  no  scientific  evidence  to  support  any  of  these  claims.  With  the  threat  of  a  lawsuit   in  2013,  Kellogg’s  settled  for  $4  million  and  continued  to  deny  that  they  did  anything   wrong  (Cerealsettlement.com).  Evidently,  cereal  advertisers  have  no  problem  deceiving   their  target  audience  and  will  continue  to  test  how  much  dishonesty  they  can  legally   maintain  in  their  advertisements.  These  direct  and  false  claims  of  nutritional  value  trick Berkowitz  8   children  and  parents  into  buying  and  consuming  what  is  actually  unhealthy,  sugar-­‐based   cereal.     Some  advertisers  have  found  sneakier  ways  to  indirectly  promote  a  false  notion  of   nutritional  value.  For  example,  in  a  commercial  for  General  Mills’  Cookie  Crisp  breakfast   cereal,  an  excited  mascot  called  Chip  the  Wolf  exclaims,  “It  looks  like  chocolate  chip   cookies!  Tastes  like  ‘em  too!  But  it’s  a  breakfast  cereal!”  (petros63).  This  statement   deceives  kids  into  thinking  Cookie  Crisp  is  an  acceptable  and  nutritious  breakfast  food.   Even  if  kids  have  been  taught  by  society  that  chocolate  chip  cookies  are  a  dessert  item  and   are  therefore  not  meant  for  breakfast,  this  advertisement  directly  challenges  that  concept.   Chip  the  Wolf’s  statement  implies  that  something  about  this  food  is  inherently  different   than  an  actual  chocolate  chip  cookie,  despite  the  fact  that  it  looks  and  tastes  like  a  cookie.   Therefore,  this  advertisement  establishes  that  the  consumption  of  Cookie  Crisp  is  a   reasonable  way  for  kids  to  break  the  “no  dessert  for  breakfast”  rule,  even  though  it  actually   contains  little  nutrients  and  copious  amounts  of  sugar.   Furthermore,  even  if  parents  are  skeptical  about  what  T.V.  advertisements  may   insinuate,  cereal  boxes  themselves  are  also  designed  to  mislead  shoppers.  General  Mills   cereals  now  feature  a  blue  band  printed  across  the  tops  of  cereal  boxes  with  a  check  mark   and  the  words  “Whole  Grain.”  While  these  cereals  do  include  whole  grain,  and  whole  grain   is  indeed  a  healthy  ingredient,  this  one  nutritionally  beneficial  item  does  not  make  the   entire  cereal  healthy.  Many  of  these  cereals  still  contain  10  or  more  grams  of  sugar  per   serving.  To  make  matters  worse,  the  serving  sizes  are  quite  deceptive  as  well.  Every   General  Mills  cereal  with  a  “Whole  Grain”  check  mark  on  it  has  a  serving  size  of  only  ¾  cup   (General).  This  could  account  for  as  little  as  a  half  or  a  third  of  what  a  child  would  actually Berkowitz  9   consume  at  breakfast.  Therefore,  many  consumers  have  to  multiply  the  nutritional  values   by  either  two  or  three  to  get  an  accurate  idea  of  what  they  are  eating.  The  amount  of  whole   grain  in  these  cereals  certainly  does  not  eliminate  the  detrimental  effects  of  20  to  30  grams   of  sugar,  even  though  the  design  of  the  cereal  box  implies  that  the  whole  grain  makes  the   cereal  healthy.  Hence,  even  supposedly  nutritionally  conscious  consumers  can  be  fooled  by   the  clever,  indirect  dishonesty  of  cereal  marketers.     Consumer  Lifestyle:  Beyond  Television  Advertisements   Cereal-­‐marketing  corporations  avoid  blame  for  the  unhealthiness  of  their  products   by  claiming  that  consumers  are  personally  responsible  for  eating  those  unhealthy  products   in  moderation.  However,  today’s  lifestyle  makes  it  very  difficult  for  consumers  to  choose   healthily,  especially  with  the  strong  presence  of  successful  advertisements.   With  the  ever-­‐growing  presence  of  technology  in  the  modern  world,  children  now   experience  a  daily  bombardment  of  advertising  due  to  their  increased  “screen  time”  spent   in  front  of  televisions,  smartphones,  and  computers.  As  of  1999,  “the  average  child  in  the   United  States  watche[d]  more  than  1,250  hours  of  television  and  viewe[d]  over  38,000   commercials  each  year—the  majority  are  for  food  products”  (Dalton  86).  These  numbers   have  likely  climbed  in  the  last  decade  and  a  half,  especially  with  the  invention  of  the   smartphone.  Additionally,  children  experience  cereal  marketing  through  the  Internet  via   online  games  that  involve  the  cereals’  mascots.  For  example,  the  popular  children’s  T.V.   network  Nickelodeon  has  a  website  that  features  games  such  as  “Trix:  Amp  it  Up,”  “Cocoa   Puffs  Crossword,”  and  “Lucky  Charms  Lucky  Bowling”  (Nick.com).  These  games  strengthen   the  association  between  the  specific  cereal  and  fun  for  children.  When  children  play  along   with  their  favorite  cereal  mascot,  their  brand  preference  and  desire  for  the  cereal  rises Berkowitz  10   significantly.  With  most  of  children’s  free  time  being  occupied  by  activities  that  expose   them  to  cereal  advertisements,  the  cereal  will  inevitably  hold  a  huge  appeal  to  them.   Furthermore,  children  are  extremely  impressionable  because  of  their  young  age.  In   a  study  by  Simone  Pettigrew,  children  aged  eight  to  fourteen  years  were  exposed  to   advertisements  for  well-­‐known  junk  foods.  After  only  one  exposure  to  an  Internet  or   television  advertisement  of  the  product,  the  children  rated  the  products  more  favorably,   had  a  greater  desire  to  consume  the  products,  and  thought  the  products  could  be  consumed   more  frequently  (Pettigrew  2205).  This  study  demonstrates  that  children  as  old  as  fourteen   are  easily  influenced  by  persuasive  advertisements.  While  the  level  of  impressionability   can  be  harmful  enough  at  fourteen,  junk  food  advertisements  are  also  marketed  toward   children  as  young  as  two  years  old  (Kolish  68).  With  such  a  high  predisposition  to  believe   everything  they  see  or  hear,  these  young  children  grow  up  learning  that  what  they  see  in   advertisements  is  completely  acceptable.  This  effect  can  already  be  seen  on  adults  who   grew  up  watching  deceptive  cereal  advertisements.  For  example,  in  the  court  case   Sugawara  v.  PepsiCo,  Inc.,  a  woman  named  Jane  Sugawara  tried  to  sue  the  makers  of  Cap’n   Crunch  with  Crunchberries  cereal  for  implying  that  there  were  real  berries  in  the  cereal.   She  argued  that  the  inclusion  of  the  word  “berry”  in  the  name  of  the  cereal,  along  with  the   images  on  the  front  of  the  box  and  other  marketing  she  had  seen  for  the  product,  misleads   consumers  to  believe  that  the  sugary  cereal  “contains  redeeming  fruit.”  In  fact,  she  herself   believed  this  and  purchased  the  cereal  for  four  years  based  on  that  assumption.  The  judge   deemed  that  such  a  notion  was  ridiculous  and  that  Sugawara  should’ve  had  enough   common  sense  to  know  that  a  “crunchberry”  is  not  a  real  fruit.  (Sugawara  1-­‐12).  As   unreasonable  as  it  sounds,  this  kind  of  mindset  may  be  the  new  norm  for  generations  that