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mrphSo, they've decided not to ban junk food advertising. That's probably just as well.
I mean, just how would a legal restriction on this work? How do you define junk food? It's not like cigarettes or alcohol, after all.
Even if you do manage to work out some sort of definition, it'd be almost entirely futile. So, hypothetically they pass the law and McDonalds can't advertise the Big Mac any more. That doesn't stop them advertising the McSalad, or some 'healthy' chicken burger - complete with golden arches, Ronald the clown and all the usual "come eat at McDonalds" hype - and then the Big Mac is still there when the customers wander into the store.
And what about Burger King? Would their name be allowed to appear in ads for the healthy items on their menu?
...and once you move away from burgers and onto things like pizza and (perhaps) ice cream, it gets even more tangled. Who's going to test all of these foods to ensure that they're healthy enough to advertise, anyway?
I mean, just how would a legal restriction on this work? How do you define junk food? It's not like cigarettes or alcohol, after all.
Even if you do manage to work out some sort of definition, it'd be almost entirely futile. So, hypothetically they pass the law and McDonalds can't advertise the Big Mac any more. That doesn't stop them advertising the McSalad, or some 'healthy' chicken burger - complete with golden arches, Ronald the clown and all the usual "come eat at McDonalds" hype - and then the Big Mac is still there when the customers wander into the store.
And what about Burger King? Would their name be allowed to appear in ads for the healthy items on their menu?
...and once you move away from burgers and onto things like pizza and (perhaps) ice cream, it gets even more tangled. Who's going to test all of these foods to ensure that they're healthy enough to advertise, anyway?
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Date: 2004-03-04 01:33 am (UTC)Also, they'll probably define 'healthy' just by fat and sugar content, so that home-made ice cream made with organic ingredients will be 'less healthy' than some prepackaged oven-ready meal made with over-processed gunk and factory farmed meat extruded into a plastic tray. *sigh*
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Date: 2004-03-04 02:05 am (UTC)