#FMF: The Hypocrisy of Olympic Sponsors and Junk Food Marketing to Kids
This is an installment in the series “#FMF: Food Marketing Fails” intended to shed light on the obvious (and not so obvious) examples of how the big box food industry is looking to deceive you, and your waistline. You can find the original article here.
I wasn’t going to write this article. The subject seemed too obvious.. the world’s most primed athletes artificially enjoying junk food in the name of enormous profits and corporate sponsorship.
Of course this should surprise no one. Junk food marketing (like all marketing) is simply a battle for attention, and right now, the Olympics has the world’s attention. The global reach and media firestorm of such an event elevates campaigns like Coca-Cola’s #ThatsGold from a problem, to a downright health crisis.
Children look up to athletes. If you’d like to argue that, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has a few billion dollars from Coca-Cola and McDonald’s that says otherwise. Here’s what goes on in a young person’s mind when watching these advertisements:
If Alex Morgan and Ashton Eaton can dominate the competition and still drink Coke, so can I.
The honest truth is: THEY CAN’T and NEITHER CAN YOU. Alex Morgan doesn’t have soda after a tough practice and Ashton Eaton doesn’t crush a happy meal when preparing for the decathlon. Their trainers would never allow that and neither should parents.
I can already hear the moderation crowd — but Parker, everything is okay in moderation. The trouble with moderation is the subjective nature of the term.. is one soda a day moderation? Two? Three? Let’s be honest, brands don’t spend astronomical ad dollars in the interest of moderation, don’t fall into the trap.
As long as athletes, actors and singers continue to trade millions of dollars for star power, the problem will persist. Coca-Cola has Selena Gomez. Pepsi has Beyonce and Sprite has Drake (remember this).
It’s not just the athletes being put on display, it appears the iconic Olympic Rings are for sale as well. While the Olympic logo remains an iconic symbol of unity and healthy competition, it has sadly become synonymous with corporate greed and commercialism to the masses.
The literal definition of hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing another — I can’t think of a better example than allowing unhealthy products to be featured at the gold standard of “healthy competition”.
Choose wisely -
Parker (@parkerantoine)
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