Have you seen the Burger King TV commercial that has caused quite a bit of controversy and outrage in the mental health community?
In a nutshell, it is Burger King's mascot, the king, running wildly through an office building. He is tackled and restrained by two men in white. They say he is "crazy" and "insane" for wanting to sell his burgers so cheaply.
Mental health organizations argue that they have worked very hard to erase the old school notions of mental illness (i.e. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). They fear that images like this will bring stigmatization to mental illness and make people afraid to seek treatment. Perhaps giving the impression that people struggling with a mental health issue will be locked away in a little white room.(See the commercial for yourself)
Is this a case of another commercial pushing the envelope to grab the attention of its viewers or is it disrespectful and possibly harmful?
There are a few subtexts to the commercial that aren't mentioned by the mental health organizations but may also cause objection by those who are concerned about the impact of marketing on the way we eat.
Does the commercial also say?...
1) It's normal to lose control over yourself when eating fast food. Why bother trying to eat it mindfully?
2) It's cheap. Who cares about how healthy it is as long as it's a deal.
Another group that is rallying to change fast food marketing is an organization that wants to eliminate Ronald McDonald. They appear to argue that Ronald has a significant impact on the childhood obesity epidemic (see RetireRonald.org). As you can imagine, it is a heated controversy. Some say that parents alone are responsible for choosing what to feed their children and that marketing has little to do with kids being hooked on fast food. Others say the opposite. Kids are highly influenced by the ads and images they see.
The question, in general, is how much does the media impact what we buy and consume? Does a "crazy" king and a red head clown impact the way we eat? Feel free to weigh in on this issue...
By Dr. Susan Albers, psychologist and author of the new book, 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food and Eating Mindfully www.eatingmindfully.com
David Wallinga, M.D.: Challenging the Obesity System
For the past 35 years, U.S. farm policy has incentivized the production of a few commodity crops (like corn and soybeans), and the calories that come from them.
Today it is the criticism of Burger King and McDonalds
Yesterday it was the unsavory social messages in the Lion King
And the damage done to little girls watching Pocahontas animated movie because she was drawn with too good a figure
Yet these same people will praise NBC for its green messages which are only designed to make GE more money.
Here's a newsflash: if you're riding around in your Soccer Mom Van with the rugrats, drive right on past that fast food place, go home, and make something for dinner that doesn't involve vats of boiling oil.
That's the bottom line, and unless/until that changes, we'll just keep getting fatter and sicker. I don't know if the problem can ever be solved, because there are so many variables invovled. The country is enormous, and so are its people.