Obesity

For Many Living With Limb Loss, “Open Happiness” Doesn’t Ring True

Feet to the Fire, Food/Beverage Marketing, Uncategorized /

by Cara Wilking, JD As part of its 2012 Olympic Games marketing blitz, the Coca-Cola Company has assembled a “Coca-Cola 8-pack of Athletes” to  “serve as Coca-Cola ‘Ambassadors of Active Living’ to help encourage and inspire people to lead active, balanced lives.”[1] This group includes Jessica Long, a 2012 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team nominee.[2] Ms. Long was born […]

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Health Groups Ask Federal Trade Commission to Investigate Merck’s Use of “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” Characters to Market Children’s Claritin®

Feet to the Fire, Injury Reduction, Press release, Uncategorized /

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Cara Wilking, 617-373-5699 Today, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, joined by 10 other organizations, sent a letter to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking that it investigate Merck & Co. Inc.’s  Madagascar 3-themed marketing campaign for its flagship pediatric

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PHAI’s Friedman and Gottlieb Co-author: “Soda and Tobacco Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Campaigns: How Do They Compare?” in PLoS Medicine

1 Comment / Food/Beverage Marketing, Press release, Publications, Tobacco /

PHAI senior staff attorney Lissy Friedman and executive director Mark Gottlieb collaborated with Lori Dorfman, Andrew Cheyne and Asiya Wadud of the Berkeley Media Studies Group to produce this article published today in PLoS Medicine. Soda companies’ PR campaigns are bad for health: Health advocates need to organize strong public health campaigns to educate the

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The Hidden Energy Costs of School Beverage Vending Machines

Feet to the Fire, Food/Beverage Marketing /

PHAI has produced a FACT SHEET detailing state-by-state electricity costs of traditional cold beverage vending machines. A traditional cold beverage vending machine consumes an estimated 3000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year (kWh/yr). That translates to an average annual energy cost of $313 per machine. Even more energy efficient machines still use between 1200 and 1500 kWh/yr. When multiplied over

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PepsiCo Unfairly and Deceptively Targets Teens with Its “Win from Within” Gatorade Campaign

Feet to the Fire, Food/Beverage Marketing, Uncategorized /

The Public Health Advocacy Institute has submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting that it use its authority under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to investigate PepsiCo’s current “Win from Within” commercial television advertisement and commercial website for its Gatorade sports drink product featuring Michael Jordan’s performance during game

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FDA Action Needed to Address Diet Coke’s Blatant & Unlawful Use of Heart Health Claims

Feet to the Fire, Food/Beverage Marketing, Legal Filings /

The Public Health Advocacy Institute is asking the FDA to investigate and take enforcement action against The Coca-Cola Company’s unlawful use of heart health claims on cans of Diet Coke.  In February of 2010, 2011 and 2012, The Coca-Cola Company has released Diet Coke cans labeled with a large red heart symbol, the National Heart

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General Mills Uses Whole Grain Claims to Distract from Sugar Content

2 Comments / Feet to the Fire, Food/Beverage Marketing /

By Cara Wilking, Staff Attorney Like a good mother, General Mills loves all of her “Big G” cereals the same. Consumers, however, should not. The company has chosen to market all of its Big G cereals as containing “More Whole Grain Than Any Other Ingredient*” (the asterisk takes you to the disclaimer “*as compared to

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The Cost of McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys

2 Comments / Feet to the Fire, Food/Beverage Marketing, Uncategorized /

By Cara Wilking, Staff Attorney The passage of San Francisco’s Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance and McDonald’s recent decision to “comply” with the law by charging 10 cents in order to be able to include toys with meals that do not meet minimal nutritional criteria has engendered a lot of public debate. The following table summarizes information

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PHAI Releases New Resources to Use Law to Fight Junk Food Marketing to Kids

1 Comment / Food/Beverage Marketing, News, Press release, Publications /

Food and beverage marketing targeting children is a major focus of the food and beverage industry because, as the Institute of Medicine’s report on the subject bluntly declared, “marketing works.” Deceptive and unfair marketing to promote high-calorie low-nutrient foods and beverages affect parent-consumer food purchasing decisions and induce demand among children for products that contribute

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