Happy Meal Lawsuit

[Geoff_M]

There was some study done that showed that Joe Camel was more recognized that more common children's characters like Mickey Mouse or Fred Flinstone (who evidently smokes in earlier episodes, didn't he?).

I cannot provide a link to such study at the moment. Wikipedia lists it about 1991. Which coincides with my youth.

Here's a link to the JAMA article about Joe and Mickey. In fact the study didn't find "Joe" was more recognizable than Mickey Mouse... and Fred never was part of the study (WikiMyth!). What it did find was that by age six about 90% of children surveyed knew that "Joe Camel" was used to sell cigarettes. They also didn't show the kids a picture of Mickey Mouse, they showed the logo for the Disney Channel (a three ring Mickey head in the center of a TV screen) and that scored almost 100% recognition as being associated with "Mickey Mouse" by age six.

All the study really showed was that by age six, about 90% of kids had seen enough Camel cigarette ads to know that "Joe Camel" was used in cigarette ads. For the record, the study also showed that kids had slightly higher levels of recognition of the Chevy "bow tie" and the Ford oval as being about selling cars as they did with "Joe", but I don't think that meant that the Big Three were trying to market their products to children.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Chuck E cheese is an interesting restaurant that someone brought up. It is a junk food Mecca,'though they do have a lovely salad bar.

And, surprisingly, BEER on the menu!

 

[Planogirl]

Goodness, Disney entices kids with those characters and you can get chicken nuggets and fries all over.

I wish just once that people like this would have their cases thrown out of court. If I stab myself, can I sue the maker of the knife?

 

[pyrxtc]

I disagree with the principal behind the lawsuit. 100%.

McDonald's doesn't make people unhealthy. People make people unhealthy.

Completely agree !!! Parents have the choice to say No you can't go there and have that. I like getting the toy, we get a burger and milk and apples. I do not let them use the caramel sauce cuz that just defeats the point of getting the apples. It doesn't have to be as bad as they offer it originally. Parents can say NO and take them as a special treat. My kids ask not to go and only one of them likes the happy meal in the first place but we all like the toys.

It's the same as now they have no cool toys in the sugar cereal. I miss those too !!

 

[Geoff_M]

Well, I think I've found the next children's crusade for the food police! Attention San Francisco city council and the Center for Science in the Public Interest: Kids Under 12 Drink Caffeine Every Day

"Can I see some ID for that Mt. Dew?"


(Note: I'm not saying that caffeine over-consumption by kids is a good thing, but clearly we need some laws and lawsuits to help curb this growing health crisis that parents are unable to control!)