Corporate Evil

Yet another MS article talking about a study of how the evil corporations are "brainwashing" your children. Does it surprise anyone that the "study" was derided as unscientific for not using a valid control? Or that the article withholds this fact until the very end of the article?

Most important quote: "The fact is, parents make the decisions for their children..." - McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker.

This is the crux of the issue. Parents are responsible for making decisions for their children. They're responsible for choosing what television programming their children watch, what advertising they are exposed to, and what food the children eat. The "brainwashing" is irrelevant. All that is important here is that parents take responsibility for raising their children.

Are your kids McDonald's brainwashed?
Chicago Sun-Times

Anything made by McDonald's tastes better, preschoolers said in a study that powerfully demonstrates how marketing can trick the taste buds of young children.

Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids when they were wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches.

The study had youngsters sample identical McDonald's foods in name-brand and unmarked wrappers. The unmarked foods always lost the taste test.

"You see a McDonald's label and kids start salivating," said Diane Levin, a childhood development specialist who campaigns against advertising to kids.

Study author Dr. Tom Robinson said the kids' perception of taste was "physically altered by the branding."

The study involved 63 poor children ages 3 to 5. Robinson believes the results would be similar for children from wealthier families.