(Part 1 here).
Black Diamond, Fun Cheez
BD exec, brainstorming: "I have a great idea... Let's cut cheese into funny shapes, create an absolutely inane brand imaging with an idiotic mascot, and sell it for four times the normal price!"
Cheese pieces made into fish, dinosaurs and moon shapes, uh? Because we all know that kids won't eat anything if it's not "fun"! Slices of cheese: boring. Bright colors and cartoons on the packaging: now you're talking! Never mind that advertising directly to kids is illegal here; there are great litigators who can always argue that this packaging is targeted to grab the parent's attention, and not intended for children at all.
People, you are obviously allowed to do whatever you want with your own money, and this is just my humble opinion here. But I think that going for the "fun" cheese, and the "fun" yogurt, and the "fun" juice, and the "fun" cereal, seems to be the first step towards a reliable path of your kids insisting to eat "fun" animal-shaped chicken nuggets every day and starting to refuse not-made-for-kids normal food. I mean for crying out loud, kids naturally like cheese, no? It's not broccoli or eggs here, does it really need to be "funned" up???
And if you absolutely insist on creating shapes with your food, which you know, I'm all for once in a while, I have two easy-on-the-wallet words for you: cookie cutters.
3 comment(s):
i agree with you 100 % - i tend to avoid anything of the type when feeding my children. Have you seen the burgers they sell in the shape of Mickey Mouse ? Blah.
PS - Just recently discovered your blog. Am also French but living in Val-d'Or ;)
It's illegal to advertise directly to kids there? Just food or anything at all? That's so cool. Although, it doesn't look like the law is as effective as it could be if this passed.
(Couldn't agree with you more, complete waste of money, and definitely does lead down that path of "I only eat kid food")
Cheerios on their own are pretty fun, I think - and my boys have a blast playing with oatmeal. OK, it's a little sticky, but I think it just shows that kids can (and often will) play with any kind of food, and that it's unnecessary to have it be pink and sparkly and shaped. I have been known to cut out sandwiches with cookie cutters for special occasions, but that's it. I'm with you- four times the price for something shaped is a rip off.
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