We’re all well aware for the need to tackle obesity – the
effect of being significantly overweight is being borne out by the massive
increase in cases of type 2 diabetes, which has been in the news a lot recently. Children as well as adults are less active
and eat more calorific and sugar-laden snacks than their bodies allow and the
damage lasts a lifetime. The issue is so
critical that the government is looking to legislate to force consumers and the
industry alike to be more responsible.
Filling time on a wet school strike day last week, I treated
my children to a trip to the cinema. As
it was teatime when we went, I took water for them to drink and a few nibbles
such as little sandwiches, yogurt and some raisins. I also had a small chocolate bar each for
them as an extra treat.
On arrival at the cinema, we duly queued up to collect our
tickets. Us Brits are so very good at
queuing aren’t we? We moan and about it
and tut a lot but do it diligently. I
have to confess I did a lot of tutting when I realised there is only one type
of queue. Whether you want or need
snacks or not, you are forced to queue up with young children next to the
aisles with big family-sized packets of sweets and pop corn trays advertised in
bright, inviting colours. So here we go,
my 5 year old then questions the idea of having those sweets too albeit less
dramatically than I feared fortunately.
The promotion went further when the young man behind the
counter enquired if I wanted any popcorn, snacks or drinks. My 8 year old is now joining in the argument
about wanting M&Ms. I am not against
treating my children but I resent having to discuss it with my children when I
have already set the boundaries for this cinema trip – besides a family sized
bag of chocolates is too large for two small children.
Advertising and promotion is of course an important tool
whether you’re raising awareness,
generating interest, creating desire (there was a lot of that
happening with my two at the time) and galvanising action (i.e. sales) and removing all such promotion regarding
treats would perhaps harm profits but a responsible marketer gives customers a choice
and a queue just for ticket collection would have negated any of these problems
and ensured my post-purchase customer experience was a positive one.
My message to cinemas in this case would be
to take action before the government does.
No comments:
Post a Comment