Philip Morris Companies, the tobacco giant behind Marlboro, owned Lunchables for 23 years and used cigarette research strategies to shape the brand.
- Internal documents show Philip Morris shared scientists, technology, and product development methods across its tobacco, food, and alcohol divisions, with Lunchables serving as a model example of that strategy.
- Lunchables was engineered to appeal to kids’ desire for autonomy and to ease mothers’ guilt, using the same consumer psychology approach Philip Morris developed for cigarettes.
- Researchers say tobacco-style regulations, including warning labels, taxes, and restrictions on child-focused marketing, may be worth applying to ultraprocessed foods like Lunchables.
Capitalism was a mistake.
Should’ve never come down from the trees.
Our goal is to take as much as possible in exchange for as little as possible ❤️
They could have used all that research and knowledge to make something of good quality that would ease a mothers busy work day,and be healthy and nice for kids
But of course we just went with the “fuck the kids, we found a way to earn a few more cents by feeding those critters some toxic shit”
These fuckers really are the gift that keeps on giving…
More like the grift that keeps on grifting
There are scientists who make their careers peddling shady results for big companies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants_of_Doubt
Its tragic
And the system rewards them
Guess it was a good thing we were always too poor to afford lunchables?
So glad I sold my kid on the idea of “homemade Lunchables” years and years ago.
Anybody else nocticing an increase in ‘cigarette content/advertising’ these days?
Yes! Or wait, do you mean like in consumable media, TV shows, movies, etc? Then yes, I have noticed more smoking, and definitely vaping if the setting is contemporary. I always thought smoking was a no-no on network TV but maybe primetime gets a pass.
Do you also mean advertising influenced by “classic” cigarette ads? Then also yes, in a way. I see a lot of similarities in attitude and tonal delivery with other ads, quite often overtly sexual.
Tid bit dystopian tbh
Not only that but on social media feeds. Like algos pushing ‘cigarette/smoking’ memes. My youtube feed always has a couple cigarette themed videos like, trying every brand of cigarette in China or some bullshit like that, or on instagram it’ll just be random smoking related shorts or some random fashion trend or meme that is associated with smoking in some shape or form. My feeds are definitely special considering my interests and the chambers I interact with but still, this does not feel ‘organic’ at all to me.
Seriously? No. I don’t think I have seen a cigarette ad in 20+yrs. Haven’t seen a vape one in a probably decade either.
Well I’m not really talking about traditional advertising either. More of the viral and algorithmic kind.
as a non-american stuff like lunchables fucking baffles me, just give the kids some clementines?
