"Litter Marketing"

McDonalds Litter

I picked this photo to prove a point. It's a topic that I like to call "Litter Marketing", and it's not something you will learn at college, or in a textbook. When you think about all the ways that you are Marketed, and Advertised to, do you think of garbage as one of them? How many times have you seen a McDonalds bag on the side of the road and then instantly craved a Big Mac? Do you think companies like McDonalds realize the potential number of cheeseburgers they can sell if their packaging is obnoxiously large and bright colors? Call me crazy, but I think they do. We have had the "Go Green" revolution and companies have tried things and then faded them out. Take Sun Chips for example. They made the world's first fully compostable, environmentally friendly chip bag. Genius right? Well when consumers complained about how much noise the bag made they eventually took it off the market. Whatever happened to doing things because it is the correct thing to do, or at least a good thing to do? Has money blinded our morals? Think of all the money the world could save if companies where not allowed to print colors on their packaging, and maybe reduce the size of their bags so that they don't become mini billboards for the kids that walk by. When is the last time you actually thought about Fast Food portions? They outlawed the SuperSize only to rename it as a large and get rid of the smallest size. I'm not saying that I don't eat fast food. I'm just paying attention to what I see, hear, and eat. I always order smalls because I'm just a little guy and I can't handle large amounts of food (nor does my stomach like anything that tastes good). Packaging is huge and in-your-face with colors and designs. Yes, I've bought into it because I write about great packaging, logos and design. Just realize that the next time you see litter on the side of the road and it gives you a craving for that product, it might just be on purpose. If your bottle or can doesn't recycle it gives it that much more opportunity to circulate in the environment.