Responsible Food Marketing
E th i ca l a n d R E s po n s i b lE Foo d a n d b E v E R ag E M a R k E ti n g to c h i ld R E n a n d a d o lE scE nt s
By Jerome D. Williams, PhD, Professor, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick and Minette E. Drumwright, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin
introduction Few doubt that childhood obesity is a serious threat to our nation’s health; however, there is a huge debate over who is responsible and what should be done. One aspect of the debate involves significant disagreement over food and beverage marketing and advertising targeting children (Healthy Eating Research 2011, Williams 2005). What does ethical and responsible food and beverage marketing to children look like? Depending on where one goes to find the answer, either to food and beverage companies (and the supporting marketing communications industry), or to the public health community, the answer may vary dramatically. To some extent, the degree to which certain marketing tactics are considered unethical may be in the eye of the beholder. What might be considered good business practice by some marketers might be considered bad ethics by the public health community. In fact, according to some business ethics scholars, a major part of business decisionmaking falls within gray areas where the border between right and wrong behavior is blurred (Bruhn 2008). In this report, we will attempt to highlight the intricacies of these complicated issues by examining perceptions of different groups of the ethics of marketing food and beverage products to children. As such, the purpose of the report is not to establish or identify “right” or “wrong” practices, or “ethical” or “unethical” behavior. Our focus will be on stepping back as academic marketing communications researchers and applying our lenses to elucidate more fully the complexities of this often heated debate over issues of the ethics of food and beverage marketing to children. In doing so, we will first review
By Jerome D. Williams, PhD, Professor, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick and Minette E. Drumwright, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin
introduction Few doubt that childhood obesity is a serious threat to our nation’s health; however, there is a huge debate over who is responsible and what should be done. One aspect of the debate involves significant disagreement over food and beverage marketing and advertising targeting children (Healthy Eating Research 2011, Williams 2005). What does ethical and responsible food and beverage marketing to children look like? Depending on where one goes to find the answer, either to food and beverage companies (and the supporting marketing communications industry), or to the public health community, the answer may vary dramatically. To some extent, the degree to which certain marketing tactics are considered unethical may be in the eye of the beholder. What might be considered good business practice by some marketers might be considered bad ethics by the public health community. In fact, according to some business ethics scholars, a major part of business decisionmaking falls within gray areas where the border between right and wrong behavior is blurred (Bruhn 2008). In this report, we will attempt to highlight the intricacies of these complicated issues by examining perceptions of different groups of the ethics of marketing food and beverage products to children. As such, the purpose of the report is not to establish or identify “right” or “wrong” practices, or “ethical” or “unethical” behavior. Our focus will be on stepping back as academic marketing communications researchers and applying our lenses to elucidate more fully the complexities of this often heated debate over issues of the ethics of food and beverage marketing to children. In doing so, we will first review