The Face of Fast Food Advertisements

Who is the number one target audience for fast food restaurants? The answer is simple, kids. Fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, and Taco Bell all advertise to kids. They use things like toys and colorful packages to get the children to buy their product. The kids beg their parents to go to the fast food restaurant so they can get the new shiny toy.

Fast food restaurants have used the growth of technology as a way to trap kids into seeing their ads. Websites, apps, television commercials, and radio commercials are all used to market fast food to children. In 2012, $4.6 billion was spent on advertising fast food to kids (fastfoodmarketing.org).

Fast food has clearly found the key to marketing their food to children. However, they face a controversy with the parents of the children wishing for healthier options. In order to please both sides of the spectrum, fast food restaurants have started to introduce healthier side options like apples instead of french fries into their kids meals. With fast food ads now appealing to the kids and the parents, fast food advertising will begin to dominate the marketing world.

Sources:
"Just Give Me the FACTS." Fast Food FACTS. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. <http://fastfoodmarketing.org>.

By: Sydney Smith