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Remember New York City”s anti-obesity ads that featured amputees in an attempt to dissuade you from drinking soda? Not only were they tacky, but they were also photoshopped, and the soda industry is pissed.
The ads, which began running in early January, featured an overweight male amputee to emphasize the risk of diabetes (which can cause circulation problems that lead to amputation). But in reality, the guy in the ads is just an overweight dude whose leg was severed by Photoshop.
The American Beverage Association—a lobbyist group responsible for keeping soda taxes at bay, among other things—is not happy. In a press release, they slammed the Department of Health for their tactics:
This is another example of the ‘What can we get away with?’ approach that shapes these taxpayer-funded ad campaign.
Now, we wrote that the ads were over-the-top, and even somewhat misleading when they came out. But, as Gothamist points out, the DOH is competing with huge, well-funded corporations for advertising space, and when you’re up against the advertising of brands like Coca Cola and Pepsi, a simple infographic just ain’t gonna cut it.
As for the falsity of the ads, my first instinct is in line with the response of Health Department spokesman John Kelly, who responded to the ABA’s uproar by simply saying:
We might stop using actors in our ads if the food industry stops using actors in theirs.
What do you think: Are the ads a total sham? Or just a fair attempt by the underdog to get our attention on health?
Photo: Gothamist
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What in the world is “shocking” about these ads? What photograph isn’t manipulate these days? These ads don’t even begin to broach the level necessary to affect change. If we find obesity too personal an issue to truly attack, maybe it is. I natter more about it here: http://heresheisboys.com/2012/02/07/only-you-can-prevent-obesity/
I still think the ads are dumb, but I don’t think it matters whether or not the guy is a real amputee or not. It’s not like they were emphasizing the personal story of the photoshopped man pictured.
People are always looking for “one” food that caused the weight gain problem. Soda has been around for over 100 years without an obesity problem in the USA and Europe. The reason you cannot lose weight is due to food chemicals. The meat,milk and poultry has been damaged by FDA approved food chemicals
When researchers used a specialized diabetes diet people dropped unhealthy fat fast. The diet reversed the damage from food chemicals
This was reported on MIdland Daily News here http://www.ourmidland.com/voices/health/article_062da990-12cf-11e1-a523-0017a4aa8e72.html