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That's a common mistake. Ads don't always (and you could argue rarely) show their target demographic. Easy example: ever seen an overweight person in a fast fo

That's a common mistake. Ads don't always (and you could argue rarely) show their target demographic. Easy example: ever seen an overweight person in a fast food commercial?

reaperducer 7y ago
Ads don't always (and you could argue rarely) show their target demographic. I see plenty of overweight people in ads for diabetes treatments. I see plenty of fit people in ads for workout machines. Right now I see an ad on the side of a bus encouraging people to get free STD testing, and it shows people dancing at a club. There are aspirational ads, but the use of "rare" in your comment doesn't reflect reality.
kube-system 7y ago
The era of 'supersize me' fast food marketing is long gone. Most fast food restaurants are not targeting that specific of a market anymore, they're aiming at a much large cross-section of the population. A better example would be an all-you-can-eat buffet.
- dublinben 7y ago
  According to the CDC, over 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, so by targeting a "large cross-section" of the population restaurants are in fact aiming at 'large' customers. This reality isn't represented in advertising for obvious reasons. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
  - kube-system 7y ago
    Specifically targeting a population, and the coincidental demographics of that population are two entirely different things. That 70% is part of the 100% which they are actually targeting, but only coincidentally. There are plenty of fast food ads targeting health-conscious consumers. You could also point out that 70% of Americans are also Christian, but that doesn't mean every company that sells to Americans specifically targets Christian customers... ...also, most large fast food companies also have a significant presence in multiple countries.
ansible 7y ago
Easier example: toys for kids. They'll usually use slightly older kids in a toy advertisement than the actual target demographic they're trying to sell to. Part of that is that kids generally don't want to be seen as playing with toys for younger kids.

That's a common mistake. Ads don't always (and you could argue rarely) show their target demographic. Easy example: ever seen an overweight person in a fast food commercial?

reaperducer 7y ago

Ads don't always (and you could argue rarely) show their target demographic. I see plenty of overweight people in ads for diabetes treatments. I see plenty of fit people in ads for workout machines. Right now I see an ad on the side of a bus encouraging people to get free STD testing, and it shows people dancing at a club. There are aspirational ads, but the use of "rare" in your comment doesn't reflect reality.

kube-system 7y ago

The era of 'supersize me' fast food marketing is long gone. Most fast food restaurants are not targeting that specific of a market anymore, they're aiming at a much large cross-section of the population. A better example would be an all-you-can-eat buffet.

dublinben 7y ago
According to the CDC, over 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, so by targeting a "large cross-section" of the population restaurants are in fact aiming at 'large' customers. This reality isn't represented in advertising for obvious reasons. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
- kube-system 7y ago
  Specifically targeting a population, and the coincidental demographics of that population are two entirely different things. That 70% is part of the 100% which they are actually targeting, but only coincidentally. There are plenty of fast food ads targeting health-conscious consumers. You could also point out that 70% of Americans are also Christian, but that doesn't mean every company that sells to Americans specifically targets Christian customers... ...also, most large fast food companies also have a significant presence in multiple countries.

ansible 7y ago

Easier example: toys for kids. They'll usually use slightly older kids in a toy advertisement than the actual target demographic they're trying to sell to. Part of that is that kids generally don't want to be seen as playing with toys for younger kids.