Project Statement

The practical work within this module is a direct result of the research and findings within the second essay. Within the second essay my findings revealed that the highly successful branding techniques of fast food chains have a huge negative effect on society as a whole in terms of health and sustainability, and therefore are unethical. As Eric Shlosser says in his book Fast Food Nation (2001) fast food corporations have managed to spread ‘throughout the country like a self replicating code’ due to their branding success.

This leaves a gap in the market for healthier convenience foods that are aimed specifically at children, and so children become consumers of fast food at a young age. To be able to highlight what can be done to combat this issue within today’s consumer world, I branded a sub-brand from scratch from a well known healthy food brand: Quaker Oats. 

Traditionally, Quaker Oats is a well established, old-fashioned brand that’s target audience is the older middle class. Using my practical project to create the sub-brand Quaker Kids is an opportunity to take the techniques that fast food brands use for an ethical purpose, steering children away from foods high in salt, sugar, and fat and encouraging them to eat healthier. 

In my essay I analysed the points that Kate Bratskier put forward in her article The Tricks Fast Food Companies Use to Lure You in (2014) and then utilized this in my own branding. These techniques included a warm colour palette, exemplified by McDonald’s Golden Arches and red backdrop, which activates hunger and grabs attention. Within my own design, warm colours were used predominantly to enforce this psychological effect. 

Furthermore, Bratskier discusses the use of ‘mouthwatering vocabulary’ such as Subway’s “Eat Fresh!” and how this strategy tells the consumer what they want to hear. I mimicked this by using the slogan “Perfect For Breakfast” within my design - forcing the consumer to think about how the product will fit into their daily routine. Bratskier also discusses the importance of convenience within fast food. This is why the snack pot was chosen as the product for this sub- brand, because the quick preparation and ease mirror that of fast food. 

Moreover, I began to think about what other strategies fast food companies use that Bratskier had not mentioned. I analysed healthy food brands aimed at children: Bear and Proper Corn Kids and noticed the running theme of a game element within the design. I could tell that this was inspired by McDonald’s Happy Meal as well as Burger King’s paper crown and decided to make use of this within my own practical work. As the basis of the design was about what kids find fun (i.e. bright colours and bold shapes) I continued this theme and made stickers. A lot of brands will use a Top-Trumps style collectible card system, however, this is quite outdated. The stickers were further linked to fast food companies as they were of fruit characters. Anthropomorphisation is successful within children’s design because characters give a face to the name, as well as something to interact with, the most recognisable character being Ronald McDonald. 

The use of these strategies has proven that healthy food brands should be making more of an effort to market towards children for the greater good of societies health and well being. Ed Mayo and Agnes Nairn say in their book Consumer Kids (2009): ‘The moral is that if you want to encourage responsible advertising to children, then you have to take an approach that addresses the full mix of marketing and not just a part of it’. The ethos should be at the core of these brands and not just an afterthought.