Obvious Study Report: Junk Food Ads Target Kids

I am starting a new column on my blog called the "Obvious Study Report," because it seems to me that almost everyday a new study, that no doubt cost at least thousands of dollars, is released that states some pretty obvious facts.

Today's study, from the Kaiser Family Foundation, shows that junk food ads target children and that nearly half of all ads airing during children's programs are for food, predominantly unhealthy food. Read a summary from the Monterey County Herald here.

As I see it, this column will frequently make use of this phrase: DUH! Of course junk food ads are targeted at children. What do you expect? That chocolate-candy and frozen-pizza-bagel advertisers are going to wait until 10pm when parents are watching to push their product? And then what, parents are going to say, "Oh, look at that delicious, completely unhealthy (and unnatural) product. I bet my kids will love that!" Of course not! They advertise to kids so that kids can push it on the parents, because they know kids are relentless in their consumer desires and parents are pushovers. It's like taking candy from a baby...actually, it's like giving candy to a baby, which, if you think about it, is much easier than taking it.

I'm just going to end this summary with a quote that was on my tea bag this morning (from an unknown individual): "Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." True dat!