Thursday, May 30, 2013

Badvertising: Cookies, They're Not Just for Breakfast Anymore (Bear Paws Morning Snack)

Today's is a guest posted Badvertising example found by Toronto dietitian and fellow public health crusader Rebecca Davids.

I've blogged in the past about breakfast cookies - and with Dare's Bear Paws Morning Snack cookies can now claim their rightful role as snack food too.

Wonder when I'll be blogging about the world's first dinner cookie?
Hi Yoni -

Have you seen this yet?

They're Bear Paws - "Morning Snack" - and yes, this is actually what they are calling the cookie with a 'yogurt' filling. Funny, I usually like my yogurt from the fridge, not packaged between sugar, more sugar and processed flour.

Apparently, the kids in the commercial (and by default, all kids) need a cookie snack to 'keep them going" in the morning because they like to play. Parents should 'feed the fun'

Feed the fun?? Seriously??

Very interesting focus on the morning snack as well - I'll say when my kids were in kindergarten, their teachers used to make kids eat their "healthy" snack in the morning and save their "junky" snack for the afternoon. Notice how the assumption was all kids showed up with a 'junky' snack... but I digress. I'm just dismayed at the additional level of up-marketing this product to the level of a 'healthy, morning snack". I see how that will feed right into a parents desire to give their kid 'healthier' versions of snack foods.

OK - enough rant from me.

Best,

Rebecca Davids, MSc, RD

PS - An interesting addendum as we were discussing this product at an RD meeting yesterday. A dietitian mentioned that she's seen these products pop up on child care menus at morning snack. Unfortunately, Dare's marketing tactics seem to be working.
For those keeping score, even Dare thinks they're cookies as that's what they're calling them on their nutrition facts panel online:

And if you really want to see awful, check out this frankenfood's commercial: