Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Randomly Noted How do we feel about the billboards featuring sullen, overweight children?
Posted by Gwynedd Stuart @gwynnstu on Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 4:22 PM
Surely, you've noticed the Stop Childhood Obesity campaign's billboards. The ones with pictures like this:
- strong4life.com
- You will NOT remain unaware of childhood obesity.
Oh, but the billboards also have text, stuff like, “WARNING: Stocky, chubby, chunky are still fat" and "He has his father's eyes, his laugh and maybe even his diabetes." Way harsh, Tai.
First, who are these kids? Were they aware they'd be jammed into too-small polo shirts and their photos blown up several-stories tall to glare at motorists on some of the busiest highways in the Southeast? Can children even consent to this? And, as Scott Henry said, "I thought we were supposed to be directing all our efforts to giving kids an inflated sense of self-worth and entitlement, not picking on them for being fatties."
A guy named Ron Frieson who masterminded the campaign explained his angle:
“We talked to overweight and obese kids all over Georgia, and they resoundingly responded, ‘Give it to us straight,’” said Ron Frieson, senior vice president of external affairs for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and chair of the ad campaign. “They told us exactly how to communicate and reach them. So that’s exactly what these ads are doing, talking to kids exactly how they want.”
Oh, yeah? You know what else kids want? They want to eat pizza three times a day, replace water fountains with orange Fanta fountains and play video games until their eyeballs fall out of their big, dumb heads.
Maybe what kids want isn't always what's best?
Comments (28)
Showing 1-28 of 28
What about the fat kid TV spots? The fat boy says to the camera that while other kids are out playing in the streets, he's playing video games inside because, implied, he has no friends because no one wants to look at his chub rolls.
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What do you know about marketing? What do you know about hiring talent and talent releases? What do you, Gwynedd, know about journalism?
The image I saw on a billboard at the MARTA stop recently definitely looked digitally altered, like they made the kid look bigger. Probably good for the child's self esteem.
Anyway, are the ads targeting the kids, or the parents? From the location of the ones I've seen, I'm guessing the latter. Regardless, truth hurts, but not as much as type 2 diabetes.
How 'bout a campaign for their parents and grandparents, or are they beyond change?
I have no patience for apologists for fat people, including fat kids.
America is going down fast, and our obsession with crap food and wal-mart is leading to fat, stupid people who are willfully ignorant about nearly everything. While these children are not themselves to blame, their parents are clearly out to (several) lunches of their own, so maybe it's time to force these kids to face facts.
75% of our country will be overweight or obese in less than 10 years (2020). Being overweight is almost entirely controllable, and it's time some of you (CL) face facts.
Too many people are oblivious/remain in denial about the medical repercussions of long-term obesity (especially from an early age) - so I definitely see a need for advertisements that get people talking about the subject. When it comes to the borderline exploitative nature of these particular ads - I'm willing to just chalk them up to the American tendency to be self-righteous when it comes to health-related PSAs (see "this is your brain on drugs"; the "truth" campaign, etc. for details).
63% of the U.S. are overweight or obese. With that majority, we fatties should be bullying the rest instead of the other way around! j/k
Although I must say, that one commercial where it cuts away from the actors and you still hear heavy breathing reminds me of that Family Guy episode with the fat people meeting. You know what I'm talking about.
@ GettingThinner - if you could get your fat ass off the couch, you might have a chance at that..
As a CHOA employee I can say that they have been pushing their new “provocative” campaign in a variety of meetings here at work. The company has gone wellness crazy (thanks to a domineering HR SVP) and that is starting to rub some people the wrong way. People here are kept so beat down I’m sure they’ll go ahead and drink the Kool-Aid.
I don't see what's wrong with them, it's blunt and I'm tired of having to sugar coat everything. And children aren't the only ones who want orange fanta fountains.
The best line from the TV commercials:"I just thought she was thick, like her mama."
@Midtowner Ha! I think you've hit at least one nail on the head... This isn't journalism!!! It's crap op-ed written by an idiot who is too stupid to do something that will actually make an impact/change.
The only thing worse than the obesity epidemic is the spectacle of know-it-all, paternalistic government and institutional wanna-be social engineers trying to lecture the rubes. Get that hideous crap outta my face! CHOA has done a lot of good and has produced a lot of good media in the past, but this is a total abortion.
Right on Gwynedd.
They don't even do their own marketing pieces (even though they have a marketing department). This was all JWT.
The problem is societal, though - and our government being in bed with the food industry that peddles poison to our children. Other societies/governments have more regulation, therefore more control over the obesity problem.
"Other societies/governments have more regulation, therefore more control over the obesity problem."
Sounds great, eh?
I think Cuba's got a handle on it, N. Korea for sure.
There's nothing more American than wearing your lack of self control like a permanent meat snuggie. So what if your eating habits drive everyone else's health care costs through the roof? You're a god damned liberty-loving American, and unfettered excess is your right.
"permanent meat snuggie"
Over everything or just Little Davey?
Hey I'm with ya on obesity. When I was a veggie-minded food crusader I beat this drum loudly. The only thing worse than obesity is this obesity campaign, though, and as for driving everybody's health care costs up, that is a good argument against guvmint control of health care. Under the guise of cost control, they will control your life to a ridiculous degree. For your own good, of course, and to protect the public interest.
Top-down utopia never works. Still that clockwise guy and lots of folks pine for this sci-fi, intelligentsia controlled, Orson Scott Cardian perfect world. In the real world, fat people die young from their overeating. Duh. In clockwise world, the corpulent corpse was a victim of heretical ideas.
When we support these ads, we contribute to an overall culture of intolerance and hate. It is a negative environment and virtually every person who said that these ads were acceptable had something negative and often cruel to say about someone who is overweight. The absolute dislike and negativity...obesity doesn't give you health problems. Poor habits give you health problems. If my child is overweight, not gaining, eating healthily, and lives an active and productive life then I have no complaints and neither should you. Being obese isn't the problem. Assuming that someone is unhealthy BECAUSE he/she is obese IS a problem. Assuming non-obese people are healthy is a problem. Stop creating a hateful environment because you want to assume things about people based on superficial information.
Whoever came up with this campaign is a complete douche. This person/people shouldn’t be working in advertising…it’s an embarrassment(and I do know everything about advertising and journalism...douche number 2..midtowner). This is just another form of physical profiling…like hate profiling…it inspires hate..and should be deemed illegal in this and all other states. It could easily cause violent and bullying..and runs the risk of causing major lawsuit.
Obviously, a despicable and disgusting negative targeting campaign that takes aim at children…who most likely do not see the correlation between good/health food and bad food. Tell me how does a child that is overweight..how will he or she react…I am ugly and fat…how is that child going to become healthy..without being educated about it. This campaign has no purpose except to target kids and make them feel ostracized. It is not going to change unhealthy eating habits or get kids to go out and exercise.
Education is key when it comes to teaching young people about nutrition, calories, exercise, and weight. This could lead to bullying, low self esteem, etc. Doctors, educators, parents, entire communities..all need to step in order to turn around and help prevent a child with unhealthy eating and exercise habits turn into an adult with unhealthy eating and exercise habits.
I am shocked by the number of individuals…adults..have you… justifying this type of targeted advertising. It is unacceptable and there is a more civilized way of getting kids to turn into healthy adults. We live in a supposed civilized educated society…this is not represented in said comments above. If this is how you get your overweight kids to get into shape…go live in China or Cuba..where you will be told exactly how you can and can’t act…how to look..what you can and can’t do…
Go back to your ho dink town where you whip your kids. Your ways of doing things are tribal. Get educated. Read a newspaper. Read. Get a job and learn how a civilized society functions. For god's sake..don't have children.
