“Make your buck go further at McDonalds!” Weighing in at 19 grams of fat and 390 calories, the $1 McDouble cheeseburger aims to fill you up without emptying your wallet. Fast food advertisements appear everywhere, from billboards on the side of the highway to children’s TV shows, and brand recognition can make all the difference. In fact, in a 2007 study by Stanford University, researchers found that young children perceived burgers in McDonalds packaging to taste better than identical food in unbranded packaging, showing that children are certainly influenced by advertising (Robinson, et al. par. 7). Psychological influences are also known to adversely affect one’s opinion of food. Consider the movie “Super Size Me,” which drove society into outrage about the perceived unhealthiness of McDonalds’ food, setting the stage for the company to introduce healthier menu items such as salads and for court rulings that required fast food restaurants to publish nutrition facts for all of their entrees. Indeed, a company’s public image can make or break its bottom-line, and although advertising has a strong effect on many people, the decision to buy a product rests with the consumer. Advertising to children in the food industry should not be further regulated, as it is the job of good parenting to instill the value of moderation.
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