'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 119: Mighty McDonald's Leaves An Indelible Impression

Don't doubt the massive power that McDonald's holds over kids

When you think about the most famous brands in the entire world that are almost universally recognized by virtually everyone who sees them, one particular brand rises to the very top--MCDONALD'S! There's no denying the saturation of the Golden Arches in the marketplace today, but there's scientific evidence now that shows this influence goes much deeper than mere recognition especially among children.

In Episode 119 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", I highlight a study published in August 2007 that found children preferred food that was wrapped in paper with the McDonald's logo on it compared to the exact same food appearing in plain paper wrapping. It's an absolutely astonishing discovery and further solidifies the argument that many are making that McDonald's has a responsibility to encourage healthier food options for its young customer base.

Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 119:

"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 119 [13:29m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

McDonald's is a modern-day cultural phenomenon. No other business can claim such a strong foothold on the children of this world (except for maybe Disney, but that's debatable!). And with that great power there should be a responsibility to do something effective with it while still maintaining a profitable business model. The two are not mutually exclusive and offering healthy alternatives at the most famous fast food restaurant in the world is not an unreasonable request. And don't tell me they already do offer "healthy" choices because sugary salads and HFCS-infested caramel apple dippers don't count!

Creating the R Gym concept was a good start on the fitness end of things and so was donating $2 million to childhood obesity research. But those are merely window dressing on a problem that runs deeper than even McDonald's is willing to admit. Fast food makes you fatter--DUH! And yet representatives with the company want to claim eating the food at Mickey D's is part of a "balanced" diet. As John Stossel would say, give me a break!

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What do you make of this study revealing the marketing prowess of a company like McDonald's? Do you think they should use their popularity among the kids to begin educating and offering better food choices? Or it is perfectly fine for them to continue peddling burgers, French fries and milkshakes to serve the needs of their "growing" customer base? Talk about it in the show notes section of Episode 119 and let us know what YOU think!

Is there someone within the realm of diet, health and nutrition that you'd like to see me interview for "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore?" I'm always open to suggestions for future interviewees, so don't hesitate to let me know if I've overlooked someone important you'd like to hear more about. Please e-mail me with your recommendation at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and I'll do my best to set it up. THANKS for listening to the Internet's #1 low-carb podcast show!

South Beach Diet Now Emphasizing Lifestyle Change With New Name

I snapped a picture of the new South Beach packaging at Sam's Club

One of the most common themes I talk about is how you can't just go on a low-carb "diet," but that you must make it your permanent and healthy lifestyle change. That's why I use livin' la vida low-carb instead of "low-carb diet" to describe this way of eating for me. It's all about the "living" and the makers of the bestselling South Beach line of products are finally embracing this concept in their marketing.

This Cape Cod Times story explains why Kraft Foods, manufacturer of the popular low-carb food line prominently using the name of Dr. Arthur Agatston's famous diet plan, has changed the name from "South Beach Diet" to the new and improved "South Beach Living." Sure, it's merely semantics but the word "diet" has almost become taboo now. Lifestyle change or "living" is a kinder, gentler way of saying the same thing.

According to the article, consumers have become increasingly agitated by the use of the word "diet" and would prefer to be pursuing healthy "living" instead. After all, it's better to be living than the alternative (which just coincidentally happens to be the first three letters of that "d" word we no longer like!). Or is this much ado about nothing by some back room marketing executives?

The story goes on to site other examples of this move away from the use of "diet" in the marketing of products, including the much-heralded Coke Zero--a new version of Diet Coke that is sweetened with the overly-used sugar substitute aspartame (or as I call it NASTY-tame!) and the sweetener-enhancing acesulfame potassium (ACE-K). The Coca-Cola Company credits the absence of "diet" in the name of their product to its early success (no, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that every other commercial on television was advertising Coke Zero when it came out, couldn't it? NAH!).

They say young men (hey, I'm still pretty young at 36) wouldn't buy Diet Coke because it was a chick thing. For me, it wasn't about anything other than taste. Regular Diet Coke is disgusting to me which is why I prefer Diet Coke with Splenda (sweetened with Splenda and ACE-K) or the caffeine-free Diet Rite which is also sweetened with Splenda and ACE-K).

I think these marketing analysts get a little too caught up in their own little world to really know why anyone buys their product. It probably has a lot less to do with how offensive the word "diet" is on a product and more about the quality that "diet" product offers. I'm personally disgusted by aspartame and try to avoid it as much as possible in the diet sodas and other products I consume. Give me good quality alternatives (which includes diet sodas sweetened with the plant-based stevia) and I'll show you a consumer base that will clamor for your products.

Getting back to the South Beach product line for a moment, a Kraft representative says they want to "broaden the appeal of the brand and fuel its growth" by implementing this name change. Since more people are looking to eat healthy rather than losing weight (something I discussed in a recent podcast show), they wanted to put that message on the 70 South Beach products that line supermarket shelves. And "South Beach Living" fits the bill.

I blogged about the tremendous success of the South Beach Diet food products in early 2006 which was the "primary growth driver" for Kraft. In a market that doesn't have much competition, South Beach has great name recognition and fits a niche market. The tens of millions of South Beach Diet followers are a built-in consumer base for these products, although I highly suspect most who have read Dr. Agatston's books don't currently buy the products. That certainly opens the door for creating a wider customer appeal by marketing it for healthy "living."

Although the popularity of The South Beach Diet books was at its highest in 2003, there is still great interest in it as well as general low-carb in 2008 thanks to the resurgence in this way of eating that has happened over the past couple of years within the researcher community and with a big boost most recently by the release of Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories. One criticism I have about the South Beach products is that they contain some ingredients I wouldn't necessarily put in my mouth (sugar, flour, and the like) and have a higher carb count (double-digit carbohydrates for a bar is NOT good) than I feel comfortable with on my low-carb lifestyle. But that's just me.

That said, I know people who swear by these products and love 'em! Good for them and I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from using these South Beach Living products if they work for you. CONGRATULATIONS on making this "diet" your new way of "living" for life. In the end, that's all that really matters if you have found a way to be healthy.

Does this name change from "diet" to "living" make you more likely to buy Kraft's South Beach products or does it really matter at all? Share your feedback about this in the comments section below.

Study: McDonald's Branding Has Strong Power Over Young Minds

Dr. Thomas Robinson says the cultural influence of McDonald's unmatched

If anyone ever doubted the enormous impact of the marketing blitz undertaken by the world's most famous fast food restaurant on the most vulnerable members of our society--CHILDREN--then I would simply refer you to a brand new study that should scare the living daylights out of anyone who cares about the subject of health. This is just plain frightening if you ask me.

Lead researcher Dr. Thomas N. Robinson, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and his fellow researchers wanted to examine the "effects of cumulative, real-world marketing and brand exposures" on toddlers to see what effect, if any, consumer branding would have on their food preferences.

A total of 63 children between the ages of 3 and 5 from low-income families from the from government assistance Head Start program in San Mateo County, CA were give five pairs of identical foods and beverages--hamburgers, chicken nuggets, French fries, milk or juice, and carrots--that were packaged in wrappers stating they were from McDonald's and another in plain packaging. Each of the study participants were asked to tell the researchers if the foods tasted the same or if they had a preference for one over the other.

The stunning results? The children almost universally preferred the food and said it tasted better when it was wrapped in McDonald's packaging than the plain packaging. Remember, IT WAS EXACTLY THE SAME FOOD!

We've seen what they think is "healthy" in recent marketing efforts and it's a far cry from what it could be. While the new R Gym concept at McDonald's to encourage exercise is a pretty good start, there seriously needs to be a better effort on their part to get the menu choices even healthier for those precious little ones who are the future.

It's amazing how you just call something McBLANK and the kids go hog wild for it like it's the best thing they've ever tasted. That's powerful and absolutely blows my mind. Years upon years of indoctrination through unrelenting marketing by McDonald's has given them such a branding foothold on the competition. Nobody else in the restaurant industry even comes close.

Find out more about the results of this fascinating study and what it means to those of us who are advocates for healthy living by clicking here.