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Marketing Of Sugary Drinks To Kids, Teens Still Going Strong

The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University has just released an extensive analysis of marketing of drinks to children and teenagers. The report finds that children are exposed to more advertising for sugary drinks than they were several years ago, and that the companies are finding new and sophisticated ways to pitch kids.

Among findings: Companies have shifted from traditional media to more clandestine efforts around rewards for purchasing sugary drinks, community events, cause-related marketing, promotions, product placements, social media, and smartphones; the companies package their products in ways that can make it difficult for parents and children to decipher what is really in the product; and two-thirds of brands appear during prime-time programming through product placements, totaling nearly 2,000 appearances in 2010. Coca-Cola Classic accounted for three-quarters of brand appearances seen by children.

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Read the whole story at The Atlantic Monthly »

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