Bad Guys

In our most recent session, the Tuesday before Turkey Day break, the question was raised about how we should represent the “bad guys” in our story - The Big Sweetie’s Deep Fried Sugar Burgers with extra Lard Balls (tm.) I’ve been letting this idea bounce around in my head over this holiday weekend - a good one for thinking about junk food, at that!

            I don’t own a television, so needless to say I watch a LOT of TV when I’m home at my parents’ house, and I’ve been paying attention to food and candy commercials recently. I’ve notices a few common threads:

            Primary Colors. The color scheme in almost all the food and candy commercials I’ve seen over the break use your basic 8 Crayola colors. They’re bright, happy, warm, and inviting.

            Childhood. It’s a no-brainer that holiday candy commercials would feature children, considering Moms and Dads are getting ready for Saint Nick to fill up stockings with melt-y gooey goodness in just a few weeks - but even restaurant commercials either directly depict or make references to childhood. Consider, if you will, the Burger King commercial where the dude is ashamed to eat a Whopper because of his really tiny hands. Where is he talking to his buddy? A playground! I suppose this makes sense. When we were children, we were constantly encouraged to eat. At my house, a clean plate was rewarded with all sorts of wonderful things - dessert, a trip to the movies, the doll I’d been begging for, and on and on. As adults, we’re encouraged to WATCH WHAT WE EAT!!! Count carbs and calories, diet, exercise, worry about what certain foods will to to our cholesterol and acid reflux - there’s no reward in eating as an adult. Maybe that’s why these commercials are always triggering that memory of mom telling us to clean our plates - they want to remind us of what it flt like when eating anything at all was rewarded.

            Slogans. True, every company these days has a slogan or a jingle... but I would bet good money that the most memorable ones have something to do with food. For one thing, they’re super short - two or three words, tops. The words themselves are short, and upwardly inflected. Not to mention, these slogans get reinforced with FOOD - the thought of food while watching TV, or actual food in the store.

            Deals - Again, many companies advertise deals and specials... I’m thinking specifically of “value meal” commercials. It’s like there’s a competition to see who can stuff the most fatty food into the public for the least amount of money.

Keeping that in mind, what should our “bad guy” look like? Someone mentioned the McDonald’s Hamburglar character, another suggested a corporate fat cat... things to think about. 

-Lauren