More than 68% of Americans are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and nearly 35% are obese. But, writes Matt Carmichael, few marketers are taking notice except
clothiers. (It should be pointed out, ahem, that most people are wearing the rose-colored glasses of
denial
themselves.)
Overweight consumers certainly don't need a different kind of toothpaste, Carmichael points out, but how about more spacious restaurant booths, wider desk chairs and
more leg- and shoulder-room on airplanes? (In fact, Joe Sharkey's "On the Road" column in the New York
Times would indicate that the situation in the air is about to get a lot worse for even the most svelte among us.)
Ryndee Carney, manager of dealer and marketing
communications at General Motors, flat out admits that the automaker is blind to the issue. "There is no strategy about how we market to obese people," she tells Carmichael. "I can assure you no one
is taking obesity into account when we create marketing plans." Envirosell president-CEO Paco Underhill evidently thinks such disregard is shortsighted. Says he: "Until we as a nation go on a diet,
being conscious of our size is simply good business."
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