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McDonald’s ‘worst of the decade’ for junk food ads

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Fast food giant McDonald’s has been named worst of the decade when it comes to advertising junk food to children.

The annual Fame and Shame Awards, which highlight the marketing techniques used to advertise unhealthy food to children, were presented in Melbourne on Tuesday by anti-obesity group Parents’ Voice.

Parents’ Voice campaigns manager Alice Pryor said the awards were first presented 10 years ago.

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Both McDonald’s and breakfast cereal manufacturer Kellogg’s have been nominated every year since the awards began.

“Originally a group of around 12 parents got together and said ‘we’re just sick of … these companies targeting our children’,” Ms Pryor told 774 ABC Melbourne’s Libbi Gorr.

She said Parents’ Voice had been contacted this year by food companies unhappy with being nominated for the awards.

“Kellogg’s, to give them some credit, have been attempting to clean up their act a little bit, and so for this year they’ve only been nominated in one category,” Ms Pryor said.

McDonald’s, however, won two awards and was nominated for a third.

The restaurant chain clinched the title worst of the decade after this year winning the Pester Power Award for its Minions Happy Meal television advertisements, which featured the well-known animated characters playing with McDonald’s character Happy the Box.

Photo: ABC

Parents’ Voice campaigns manager Alice Pryor with her children. Photo: ABC

“They fall into a truck full of bananas — you can’t get a banana in a Happy Meal,” Ms Pryor said.

McDonald’s also won the Digital Ninja Award for digital marketing aimed at children for their Happy Readers campaign.

Coke Life won the Smoke and Mirrors Award for products which pretend to be healthier than they are, while KFC won the Foul Sport Award for their sponsorship of the Big Bash cricket league.

The Parents’ Choice Award — one of Fame and Shame’s more coveted awards — is awarded to marketing or advertising campaigns which promote healthy eating to children.

It was won by Nutrition Australia and The Wiggles for their collaboration on the Pick Bright, Feel Right campaign.

Ms Pryor said it was a sign of the times that there were, for the first time, more entries in the category than official nominations.

“We had to actually shortlist, it was the first year ever,” she said.

ABC’s The Weekly with Charlie Pickering won the Media Spotlight Award for a report on junk food advertising.

–ABC

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