Case Study: Municipal Action on Food and Beverage Marketing to Youth

You direct the Healthy Public Policy program for a large municipal public health department that
recently has come under fire in a newspaper exposé about contributions from fast food companies
to after-school programs for youth that the city government runs. The exposé highlighted the
contributions of Big Boss Burger, a local fast food hamburger chain with 12 locations across the city.
Big Boss Burger donates cooking equipment to the city’s high-priority, after-school cooking program
for 9- to 11-year-olds. Although the program is well-liked by youth, it is regularly threatened by
funding cuts. The chain has recently offered to scale-up its annual cash donation to cover all food
and equipment costs in exchange for renaming the program “The Big Boss Burger Community
Kitchen” and for placing the chain’s logo on all signage and promotional materials.

The highly successful Big Boss Burger chain is owned by a beloved, self-made restaurateur who has
spent his entire career in the local food industry. Considered a colorful local personality, he
frequently sends Twitter updates that reflect his over-the- top advertising style. One tweet, for
example, offered a free sample of the chain’s “quadruple bypass” burger to anyone who visited one
of the chain’s locations within the hour. Media spokespersons for the mayor, meanwhile, have

m
er as
reiterated the community benefits of cultivating positive partnerships with local businesses. They

co
note that only registered public health nutrition staff run the city’s cooking programs, while insisting

eH w
that Big Boss Burger has no influence whatsoever on city policies or youth curricula.

o.
rs e
The media furor nevertheless has prompted city officials to explore developing a sponsorship policy
ou urc
for municipal child and youth programs. The Medical Health Officer has asked you to prepare a
briefing note outlining the key public health considerations that such a sponsorship policy needs to
address. You face a dilemma. On the one hand, several years ago your Healthy Public Policy team
o

launched a study of the impact of food and beverage advertising on children. Last year’s update on
aC s

the study to the Board of Health included a recommendation that city-operated venues and
vi y re

programs avoid commercial advertising of food and beverages targeting children younger than 13
years of age. Thus far, the recommendation has not led to any formal policy changes. Municipal
employees partly attribute this inaction to the reluctance of local authorities to act when there are
no state or national policies that govern sponsorship or marketing restrictions.
ed d
ar stu

On the other hand, the financially strapped city relies on engagement with the local business
community to fund many city-run programs, including health education activities. It is also well-
known that the owner of Big Boss Burger grew up in a local low-income community and frequently
is

volunteers his time at events in his former neighborhood.

Th

 Case Study: Municipal Action on Food and Beverage Marketing to Youth

1. Do you find the Case Study Ethical or Unethical? Why?
-
I believe that the case study is ethical because it helps encourages
sh

cooking for young children. Big Boss Burger donates materials for the
afterschool program to help educate them about the importance of
food. If Big Boss Burger did not donate to the afterschool program,
then it would result in more budget cuts or the program would
become dissolved.
 What do you find unethical about the situation? Or that could lead to an unethical
issue?
This study source was downloaded by 100000817194471 from CourseHero.com on 11-22-2021 02:08:47 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/72455831/Case-Study-Municipal-Action-on-Food-and-Beverage-Marketing-to-Youthdocx/
 -
The unethical issue is that since they changed the program to
program “The Big Boss Burger Community Kitchen” promotes the idea
that Big Boss Burger is the sole reason for the afterschool program to
continue. Since the students see the Big Boss Burger logos, then they
would more likely feel encourage to purchase things from Big Boss
Burger. It could lead to more unethical issues because the name itself
implies that the children are “working” for Big Boss Burger. This
implication increases the chances for children to eat more fast food
compared to nutritious food.
 Discuss ideas that could turn or keep the situation an ethical one.
- Some ideas to keep this situation ethical is that they should not
change the program name or add Big Boss Burger logos to everything.
Instead the program can state that Big Boss Burger is one of the major
sponsors for the program. Since the owner of Big Boss Burger grew up
in a low-income community and volunteers regularly, the school could
nominate him an alumni.

m
er as
co
eH w
o.
rs e
ou urc
o
aC s
vi y re
ed d
ar stu
is
Th
sh

This study source was downloaded by 100000817194471 from CourseHero.com on 11-22-2021 02:08:47 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/72455831/Case-Study-Municipal-Action-on-Food-and-Beverage-Marketing-to-Youthdocx/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)