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Nicole Sivyer

ENC1102

Joseph Cottle

28 March 2013

Break the Habit- Obesity Epidemic

The 2010 “Break the Habit” commercial made a bold statement to target

childhood obesity around the world. The ad is purposely controversial in order to bring

attention to parents who feed their children unhealthy food, even with knowledge of the

harmful effects. The ad centers on a typical mother bringing home a paper bag while her

average-sized son colors in a crayon book. From the bag, the mom pulls out drug

paraphernalia while she prepares to inject her son with an unknown substance in a needle.

The drugs then morph into a hamburger while the mother and her son sit down for dinner.

The ad is comparing fast food to drugs in the sense that they are both known to have

harmful effects but people use them anyways. This ad is an obvious exaggeration of the

effects of bad foods but is successful in imprinting a sense of fear into the viewers. Its

objective is to get parents to stop eating and feeding their children junk foods that are

harmful and will cause obesity.

The commercial stands out to viewers right away due to its bold statement. Few

commercials have had the nerve to display drugs being used because of the younger

audience that could have been exposed to it along with the controversy that could follow

it. In recent years, drugs themselves have been banned from being advertised in a

promoting manner on television. However, the obesity agency found a way to turn such a

powerful and self-destructive habit into motivation for people. At the end of that ad, the

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question “You wouldn’t inject your children with junk, so why are you feeding it to

them?” is displayed, along with “Childhood Obesity. Break the Habit” (Break the Habit).

Viewers of the ad will most likely think twice the next time they roll through a fast food

joint to grab a hamburger. The memory of sticking a needle into a child to inject them

with drugs has probably generated hesitation for a vast number of people.

Obesity has become a growing epidemic around the world. In America, “a third of

adults are overweight. Another third are obese. Combined, 68.8% of U.S. adults are

either overweight or obese” (Chou & Kane). Those are just the statistics for adults; for

kids, “one-third of American children are overweight or obese” (Glenn). Children “who

eat more “empty calories” are more likely to be obese than other children. This can be

caused by changes in the food market, in the built environment, in schools, and in the role

of parents” (Anderson & Butcher). However, one of the biggest contributors to obesity is

the fast-food industry. For college students like me, fast food is the easiest and cheapest

food to buy. Students are on budgets and rely on fast food restaurants to live. The

industry is becoming more popular every day, and “during the last 35 years, sales in the

U.S. fast-food industry have grown by almost 1000%” (Glenn). Their business is brought

in not only because of their cheap prices but also because of the large amounts of money

that they put into advertising, which is close to $5 billion per year. To put the $5 billion

“in perspective, consider the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the USDA’s sub-

agency that works to improve the health of Americans by promoting dietary guidance

that links scientific research to the nutrition needs of consumers. Its annual budget? $6.5

million” (Philpott). So basically, for every $100 the fast food companies spend on

advertising their unhealthy foods that will make people overweight, the nutrition

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company spends a penny to promote healthy ways of life. The obesity that is caused by

over consumption of fast food “is a contributing factor in 5 of the top 10 contributing

factors of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease” (Chou &

Kane). The cute mascots, creative jingles, and cheap prices that are advertised

everywhere from on television to billboards are what drive us to want these types of

foods so badly. If healthy food industries put more money and creativity into their

advertising like fast food businesses do, people might want to eat healthier foods more

often.

To set the tone for the “Break the Habit” ad, it uses strong and recognizable

sounds. This helps to set the chilling and unnerving mood. The commercial starts out

with nothing but the sound of footsteps and soft background violin music. The floors

creek as the mother walks up and slides her chair out. The eerie violin music continues

throughout the commercial and slowly gets louder. The only other noises are the

scratching of the crayon that the boy is using along with the peeling open of the paper

bag, the crumbling of the tinfoil, and the clicking of the lighter. Not one word is spoken

even when the mother/son scene ends and the “Childhood Obesity” slogan pops up. This

helps the viewers to be able to make their own opinions about the ad without it directly

telling them the thoughts of someone else. The entire scene is made suspenseful and dull

through the use of the few but recognizable sounds, the intensifying violin music, and the

lack of dialogue.

Not only does the use of sounds help add to the meaning of the commercial, but

the use of visuals makes the ad stronger as well. Everything in the commercial is dull or

dark in coloring, with hardly anything that is bright or cheerful to look at. To start off, the

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mother who walks into the house has on dark boots, dark hair, and is wearing a dull blue

sweater. The house is dim and shadowy with not one single bright piece of furniture or

decoration in the room. The bag itself that the mother carries is brown and looks as if it

holds something illegal and mysterious inside. The son is basically stabbing and

mutilating his drawing with red and black colors, and is paying no attention to coloring in

the lines. When it comes to the ad’s choice of colors, “black is the color of the night and

of evil…it can also mean sorrow or mourning in the tradition of wearing black to

funerals. Red is the color of blood and fire” (Anime). Neither color is associated with a

positive connotation. This whole layout helps to foster the dreary mood.

The obesity epidemic around the world, especially in America, is spiraling out of

control. Health issues are rising, physical attractiveness is decreasing, and the drive to do

anything about it is nearly absent for most overweight families and individuals. More

commercials like this one need to be present to scare people off from eating or feeding

their kids whatever they want. This commercial very effectively uses many techniques

such as its dull visuals, haunting sounds, and crude tone in order to open viewers’ eyes to

what they are really doing. I believe in a healthy lifestyle and was raised not to eat fast

food such as McDonalds or Burger King, and to also stay active by working out and

playing sports. It amazes me how different some families are than mine but I have

learned from various documentaries, commercials, and articles how harmful fast food is

for you. Parents need to start becoming more aware of how much danger they are putting

their kids in for their futures. One of the best ways to do this would be to stop putting

billions of dollars into junk food advertising, and instead putting more money into

commercials that promote healthy eating and the physical, emotional, and medical

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benefits that come with it. Junk food is okay every once in a while and fast food

restaurants legally have a right to advertise; however, they should focus their

advertisements so that people will eat their unhealthy food on occasion, not regularly. A

large number of adults around the world are already obese with health problems and we

need to stop our children from becoming that way.

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Works Cited

Anderson, Patricia M., and Kristin F. Butcher. "Project MUSE - Childhood Obesity: Trends and

Potential Causes." Project MUSE - Childhood Obesity: Trends and Potential Causes.

N.p., 2006. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.

Anime, Mark. "Symbolism: Colors." Symbolism: Colors. N.p., 2000. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.

"'Break the Habit' - Childhood Obesity Ad Australia." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Apr. 2011. Web.

12 Apr. 2013.

Chou, Joey, and Jason Kane. "Obesity in America: By the Numbers." PBS. PBS, 08 May 2012.

Web. 01 Apr. 2013.

Glenn, Brittany. "As Americans' Dependence on Fast Food Increases, the Obesity Epidemic

Worsens." Body By Vi Challenge from ViSalus Sciences As Americans Dependence on

Fast Food Increases the Obesity Epidemic Worsens Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr.

2013.

Philpott, Tom. "Fast-food Industry’s $4.2 Billion Marketing Blitz." Grist. N.p., 10 Nov. 2010.

Web. 12 Apr. 2013