9674: Anti-Obesity Ads Are The Biggest Losers.

Advertising Age published the following piece regarding the advertisement depicted above:

Bloomberg to Critics of Anti-Obesity Ad: ‘Take Your Poison’

Some Call Campaign Featuring Amputee Too Graphic

By Ken Wheaton

According to NY1, Michael Bloomberg today defended the current crop of anti-obesity ads. It seems that some people find the ad featuring a person with an amputated leg too graphic. (It’s unclear who “some people” are, however.)

Bloomberg offered a supersized portion of smackdown: “What do you want to do? Do you want to have people lose their legs or do you want to show them what happens so that they won’t lose their legs? Take your poison. Which do you want? You can’t have it both ways.”

It’s important to realize that Bloomberg is a politician, which might explain his ignorant and uninformed rhetoric. And because the advertisement ran in New York City, perhaps the mayor is simply defending having approved a supersized waste of taxpayers’ dollars. Like the awful campaign from morons in Atlanta, this NYC effort is a misguided mess which will probably fail to persuade anyone to do anything.

As MultiCultClassics has repeatedly pointed out, the fast food industry operates remarkably similarly to Big Tobacco—including the deployment of lobbyists and PR hacks to push greedy agendas and sleazy tactics. Plus, just as Big Tobacco knows shock value and threats of death and dismemberment won’t dissuade smokers, the McIndustry is completely aware that scary ads won’t dramatically alter bad eating habits. Additionally, any PSA-style initiatives to combat obesity are greatly outweighed by the marketing firepower of fast feeders.

So does that mean battling unhealthy food creators is a hopeless endeavor? Au contraire, fellow citizens! To succeed, justice fighters must employ the maneuvers that have been proven effective versus Big Tobacco:

Stop attacking the victims. Start annoying the culprits. For example, the iconic Truth campaign gained traction by forgoing stereotypical images of diseased lungs, opting to focus attention directly on irresponsible tobacco executives and their companies. In other words, don’t show fatties and amputees. Expose the fat cats and corporate honchos behind the deadly menu items instead.

Restrict marketing and apply warning labels. Big Tobacco is not allowed to hawk its products to kids. Big Mac should be equally regulated and prohibited. Imagine placing Surgeon General’s warnings on Happy Meals too. Honestly, what’s the real difference between Ronald McDonald and Joe Camel?

Raise McTaxes. Big Tobacco doesn’t want to admit it, but smoking decreases when pricing increases. The same may hold true with fast food. When people realize they can’t afford—literally and figuratively—to eat the shit, they may turn to better alternatives.

Mayor Bloomberg ought to reconsider his statements. “You can’t have it both ways” is a feeble attempt to justify doing things the wrong way.