Advertising Assignment #14

Read the following Case Study:

Make sure that your answers are detailed and grammatically correct.

Deborah Lapidus has found the “person” responsible for the childhood obesity epidemic that is sweeping the United States. While the culprit can often be found visiting children’s hospitals and performing at other charity events, Lapidus is unmoved. She wants him gone for good, or, in her words, “retired.” Anyone interested in join-
ing Ms. Lapidus’s quest should be on the lookout for an easily recognized, flamboyantly dressed individual with flaming red hair and a bright round nose. Because Deborah Lapidus wants to retire Ronald McDonald. To make her point, in 2010 she traveled all the way to Oak Brook, Illinois, the location of McDonald’s annual meeting, to protest Ronald’s prominence in the company’s advertising. Her trip was funded by her 30,000-member advocacy group, named “Corporate Accountability.” Corporate Accountability wants Ronald gone. Does McDonald’s market to children? The evidence is pretty compelling. Like any smart family-oriented eatery, McDonald’s knows that kids exercise enormous influence in family dining decisions. In response, it has created Happy Meals and playgrounds that make its restaurants fun places for kids to eat and play (and for Mom and Dad to relax). And, of course, kids love Ronald, one of the world’s most recognized brand symbols. And it is undeniable that America has a health problem, and food is a big part of it. Obama Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius suggests that one in three kids in the U.S. is overweight, a number that has grown 400 percent in just 20 years. Sebelius recently urged the U.S. Conference of Mayors to join a program initiated by First Lady Michelle Obama called “Let’s Move,” aimed at encouraging healthier lifestyles among children. So the problem that Lapidus is calling attention to is real. What is in question is her proposed solution. Will retiring Ronald make America’s children skinnier? Interestingly, McDonald’s may be way ahead of Lapidus. Thecompany has developed a broader line of healthy menus for its Happy Meals, ones that include fresh fruits and veggies. Playgrounds are slowly being phased out at McDonald’s in favor of coffee bars. Ads that feature Ronald are difficult to find anymore, part of a recent trend towards reducing McDonald’s ads that target
children. In fact, while the company’s overall ad spending in the first quarter of 2010 was up 30 percent from 2009, ads directed at kids were down 23 percent.
So McDonald’s seems to be doing its part. Lapidus should be thrilled. But one commentator, Courier News writer Julia Doyle, thinks Lapidus has missed the real source of childhood obesity: moms and dads. If our kids are fat, it automatically has to be because there’s a goofy, smiley-faced clown telling them to eat cheeseburgers and
French fries, right? It can’t possibly have anything to do with Mom or Dad stopping for fried chicken, tacos or burgers every night rather than cooking a healthy dinner when they get home. And if our kids are fat, it has everything to do with the pizza, chicken fingers and hot dogs served in their school cafeterias and nothing
to do with the fact that their parents can’t be bothered to pack them a healthy lunch to take to school each day. I think it’s high time these so-called watchdog groups get off their high horses and stop blaming corporate America for everything they think is wrong with us. The ethical issues here are complex.

1. Is it right for McDonald’s, or any company, to advertise to children?

No, it is not because children act more emotionally that logically. Also they can't differentiate between what is bad or good. They have not enough experience and knowledge to make important decisions.

2. Is it morally acceptable for a fast-food chain to feature playgrounds and brand symbols that kids find appealing?

Yes, if those symbols are not offensive, violent or promote stereotype

3.Would these activities be more ethically permissible if the company exclusively sold healthy food?
No. A company should be aware of the impact of their advertising strategies to prevent conflicts with watch dog groups or misleading customers. 

4.Can the obesity problem affecting American children (and adults) be blamed on a  single company?

No, each person is responsible for his decisions. There are options

5. McDonald’s has been using Ronald in its ads since the 1960s, a time when children were generally fitter and slimmer than they are today. So how can he be the root cause, or even a significant factor, of the problem?

He is not the factor of the problem. The problem are the habits that parents are teaching to their children.

6.What about Doyle’s points regarding the role of parents, both as role models for good eating and as gatekeepers for the types of foods their children eat? Does she have a fair point or not?

She is does. Besides obese children, there are fit and healthy kids thanks to their parents.

7. America’s children have a health problem. How significant is advertising as a cause?

Well, advertising is used by many processed food companies that at the and are not healthy, instead companies that produce fruits, veggies and healthy options do not have the same amount of money as big companies to advertise and reach consumers. The decisions is up to their consumer who should questions his own habits and options.

Assignment # 13

1. Crisis Management is an important part of the public relations process. Research a company that has had a public relations nightmare (ex: Firestone Tires, Tylenol, etc.) What steps did they take to correct the image of the company in the eyes of the public?  1. Explore and explain the issue   2. How was it handled?   3. Was it effective, or not?  What would you have done differently?

Anthropologie is a retailer that sells women’s clothing and accessories, home furnishings, gifts and decor.

During october of 2013, many artists claimed that Cody Foster & Co; one of the wholesalers of Anthropologie, was copying and reproducing their designs to further commercialize them to retailers without their authorization. In other words Cody Foster & Co. was infringing copyrights of these artists.

Many of Anthropologie customers started to made comments about the company selling Cody Foster products of its stores, to which Anthropologie responded:

Anthropologie cherishes the relationships we have fostered with independent artists and designers, which allow us to delight our customers with beautiful, distinct merchandise.

Although extremely concerned by the allegations against one of our suppliers, we believed it was our corporate responsibility to carefully investigate the claims before taking decisive action.  

After a thorough investigation, Anthropologie has decided to sever its relationship with Cody Foster & Co, remove any current items from our site and stores and cancel plans to include the company’s products in our holiday assortment. Unfortunately it is too late for us to make changes to our catalog in which a few items appear. While visible in photographs, they will not be credited or offered for sale.

We would like to thank our customers and friends in the art and design community for their patience as we resolved this matter with due diligence and with time. With this closure, we look forward to embarking on the holiday season with a shared vision.

I think Anthropologie did the right move removing the products and ending its business with Cody Foster & Co. 

2.  Although some firms handle public relations activities internally, many firms retain public relations firms to work on special projects and to handle unique situations. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is one of the major associations for PR practitioners. In Canada, the primary association is the Canadian Public Relations Society. Access the Web sites of these two organizations at www.prsa.org and www.cprs.ca. What type of information is available? What types of services are offered? How would these organizations be beneficial to various companies?

 The Canadian Public Relation Society offers in its website information about its objectives and mission, as well as the information of its members.
There is information about schools and accreditation, regulations, awards, and news, this information will help companies to extent its network, learn what is new, and keep connected.