New York City aimed to disgust New Yorkers on the notion of imbibing sugary beverages with a graphic campaign that launched last fall (all that was missing were street signs warning, "Don't even think about drinking that soda.")

Now it's Boston's turn to crack down on sweetened soda brands. Beantown officials have launched a public health media blitz including spots that state: "Don’t get smacked by fat. Calories from sugary beverages like soda, sweet tea, and sports drinks can cause obesity and type 2 diabetes."

As you'll see below, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino is on a mission to rid the streets of the public health scourges.Continue reading...

Tony the Tiger is changing roles with the times, and so is advertising for the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes that he has so distinctively represented for 60 years. The cereal giant is asking its venerable mascot to play offense instead of defense in a new approach to advertising its so-non-PC sugary cereal.

Kellogg's TV ad features an athletic Tony clowning around in the back yard with a father, his young son, and playing baseball.

With the noose tightening around Kellogg's freedom to advertise Frosted Flakes to kids, because regulators and activists are trying to further throttle promotion of suspect foods directly to children, the company has decided to try some new tactics.

Instead of targeting moms, Kellogg's is aiming directly at fathers. As Ad Age notes, more dads are buying groceries these days, and more fathers say they're eating Frosted Flakes along with their children.Continue reading...

McDonald's USA President Jan Fields has kicked off the brand's first ever "listening tour," at the BlogHer conference in San Diego.

The Hillary Clinton-style move to engage parents (particularly moms — ideally, those who blog with vast Twitter and Facebook networks) was promised as part of its new nutrition commitment that was announced on July 25th. That's when the company announced its menu overhaul a "series of town hall style meetings (that) will connect us directly with parents and nutrition experts for important dialogue about how McDonald’s can continue to play a role in children’s well being."

McDonald's executives also talked up its new Family Arches online community, signing up members of the private community at a boot at the conference. Above, listen to Fields field questions — and, well, listen.

In a study that is making the rounds of outrage this week, it's revealed that American advertisers of "junk food" are using product placement to get around recent commitments by brands not to directly target children as regulators threaten to impose tougher guidelines on marketers. That the study comes out of Yale University is probably the reason it's being accepted with little to no scrutiny.

That's a shame, because while the study's bigger conclusion might still be true, with in-program product placement rising as commercial parameters get tougher, its methodology is questionable and proves only one thing about product placement: There isn't enough research.Continue reading...

Obesity is one of the dirtiest words you can say in Washington, D.C., these days. America is overstuffed with a massive collection of overly large individuals and that number continues to grow, particularly in children. So the federal government has been attacking the issue on a number of levels.

From First Lady Michelle Obama’s White House garden, restaurant and retail-lobbying efforts and Let's Move! initiative to the new daily-nutrition-recommendation plate (above) from the USDA, the folks in the federal government are doing what they can to help Americans know their chard from their Cheetos. Not everyone inside the Beltway agrees on how to take in the Beltway a few notches, however.Continue reading...

Maybe McDonald's is just feeling generous because its second-quarter net income rose by 15% and the iconic brand has been able to buck the vestiges of recession that have been afflicting so many of its competitors. Or maybe company executives are just tired of being played as villains by food activists.

Whatever the reason or reasons, McDonald's today laid out details of a new multi-pronged, multi-year commitment to boost nutrition in its menu and, to the extent it can, across American society. Most notably, it includes a major overhaul of the much-maligned Happy Meal in response to concerns about childhood obesity, as well as significant new uses of its influence in various forms of communication about food choices.

The company’s “Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices” aim to help Americans “make nutrition-minded choices whether visiting McDonald's or eating elsewhere.”Continue reading...

McDonald's last week surprised office workers in downtown Chicago Oak Brook, Illinois, with a pop-up "summer beach party" to celebrate the launch of the new McCafe Mango Pineapple Real Fruit Smoothie. Tomorrow, they can find out just how nutritious that smoothie is.

The chain will unveil its new nutrition commitments tomorrow morning via a live webcast with Jan Fields, McDonald’s USA President, and senior director of nutrition Dr. Cindy Goody.

According to the press release, it's a "long-term" (multi-year) national initiative designed to "impact consumers and communities across the country," and will involve "ongoing menu evolutions and comprehensive nutrition awareness efforts." It will also "help kids and adults nationwide make informed food decisions."

Update: Click here for the details on McDonald's new nutrition commitment

If you think you’re doing your body a favor by having a diet soda instead of the regular, you’ve got another think — and likely, another drink — coming.

A 12-year study of 474 people between the ages of 65 and 74 that brings bad news to diet-soda drinkers was presented at the 71st scientific sessions at the recent American Diabetes Association conference.

“On average, those who drank diet sodas ended up with waistlines that increased three times more than those who avoided them,” the study showed, according to the Detroit Free Press.Continue reading...