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Advertisement is defined as it follows: to announce or praise (a product, service, etc.) in some public medium of communication in order to induce people to buy or use it. Advertising campaigns for fast food restaurants have changed over time. In recent years, the fast food industry in the United States has viewed children and teenagers as a foremost market force. Experts in advertising campaigns focus in youth because they are easy to influence. Several techniques and media are used to influence children to consume junk food. Fast food advertisement ranges from in-school marketing, television advertising, the Internet and toys. 

Focusing on children and teenagers as a target in advertisement campaigns is simply wrong. Toddlers, especially the little ones, may not be able to distinguish advertisements from regular programs and have little perceptive of their influential intent. According to Schlosser (2002), “Not satisfied with marketing to children through playgrounds, toys, cartoons, movies, videos, charities, and amusement parks, through contests, sweepstakes, games, and clubs, via television, radio, magazines, and the Internet, fast food chains are now gaining access to the last advertising-free outposts of American life.” Using kids’ favorite characters and involving products with concepts such as fun, happiness and well-being, food advertisements can effectively attract children to consume their products. Gallo (2005) states, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $333.3 million in fiscal year 1997 on nutrition education, evaluation, and demonstrations. This is approximately what the food industry spent on advertising just for coffee, tea, and cocoa, or for snacks and nuts; slightly more than half (60 percent)…” The government is making an effort to regulate media advertisement, however I believe it is not enough. The government is coming up with new policies and laws, but I think they are too generalized, when they should been strongly strict and specific.

The government wanted to take action against false advertisement by creating some policies. One of these policies is that if fast food advertising is false or materially deceptive then laws of the state govern penal action.  Additionally a complaint may be filed with Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In filing a complaint with FTC you have to show that advertisement is false and misleading. However, the fast food industry protects itself in every possible way. For example, if a person wants to sue a fast food restaurant because she/he saw an advertisement where a burger looked way different than it actually is, the restaurant would win the case. In this case if the complaint pertains to claim for making burgers, it may be difficult to classify, as false claim because taste by person differs consequently exact nature of claim and how it is misleading must be shown.

On a study made by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Powell (2007) says, “Food ads made up over one quarter of TV ads viewed by adolescents with the most commonly viewed products of fast food, sweets, and beverage products well within the reach of their own purchasing power.” By these words we can assume that television advertising contributes to obesity among children and teenagers. I believe government should take a major action to regulate this massive wrong advertisement.