Selling health gets unhealthy

Was a time when kids enjoyed their milk fortified wit the latest new chocolate mix as much as they enjoyed the ads advertizing great taste or energy. Today, they're thinking about which drink their parents money should buy to oust the neighboring kids on their street. The sole purpose of the after-school afternoon drink seems to be a means of getting out there and proving they're better than the next kid on the block.

What are these ads selling? To the 8 to 15 year old age group? Not good health, vigor. Instead rivalry, one-upmanship and an unhealthy competition. Bad enough, such messages make little boys and girls constantly on the alert to come out on top of even lazy afternoon street games. What's worse, they begin to believe winning is the only way to go. Did the ad agencies and health drink companies forget there can only be one winner - in any game, in any sport? And not all their target audience can be that one winner? What happens to the psyche of those kids who come in second, or third or simply, by nature, have no inclination to sport or win at all? Perhaps marginalised, though subtly and unconsciously, because thats how the ads strike - if you're not a winner, you can't just be. With television such an invasive medium, little surprise this.

There are forums to take objectionable ads to women to court (that is a subject for another day). High time there were the same for kids.

After stagnating this site for SO long..think i will make it a spot for pasting random thoughts on what i mostly do.. movies, books, comics, photography (hopefully) maybe more..

also stagnating has been the love to watch a gooood tennis final and what better way to regain lost enthusiasm than by witnessing the colossal final everyone's talking about.. fedex and nadal battling it out.. well, nadal battling it out and completely to my chargin, fedex trying to hold on to his games. he said he'll be back next year and i cant wait.