Dr. John Ivy, lead researcher on the studies and chair of The University of Texas at Austin College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, and his team, recently conducted a study where they
After riding a bike for 90 minutes at moderate intensity, then for 10 minutes of high intensity intervals, 10 trained cyclists had significantly more power and rode faster (reduced their ride time by an average of six minutes)…
And
low-fat chocolate milk drinkers built more muscle and shaved off more fat during training, ending up with a three-pound lean muscle advantage after four and a half weeks of training as compared to study participants who consumed a carbohydrate drink.
I’m a big fan of low-fat chocolate milk, and not such a big fan of the gym…so I’m going to test this study out. I’m all for creative motivation.
The red-headed clown, McDonald’s mascot for decades, will star in several new commercials advertising Happy Meals, encouraging children to visit the HappyMeal.com website, where they can upload pictures of themselves to be integrated into Ronald McDonald videos, a McDonald’s Corp. representative said Friday.
It will be interesting to see if McDonald’s can bring the children of this great tech age, to love the mascot that we all grew up with.
The idea to instill demand directly in children, who will then pressure their parents, clearly works, Mr. Hanft [chief executive of marketing firm Hanft Projects] said. “But the problem with creating these little armies of kids is that you turn the parents against the brand,” he added.
his plan to introduce legislation that would ban toys from being included in unhealthy meals at fast food restaurants.
His proposed bill
would prohibit restaurants from distributing toys or other knickknacks geared toward children in meals that have more than 500 calories, 600 milligrams of sodium and 35 percent of calories from fat, excluding nuts, seeds and nut butters.
According to data compiled by Comrie’s office, McDonald’s Happy Meal contains 1,090 calories, Burger King’s Kid’s Meal contains 1,460 calories, Wendy’s kid’s portion meal contains 1,080 calories and KFC’s Kid Meal contains 680 calories.
McDonald’s said the hiring blitz would increase its U.S. workforce by 7.7 percent to 700,000 — which is no different from prior summer staff increases.
So what have we learned from all of this? Just like any business in the marketplace, every company (established or not) has to revamp its marketing once-in-a-while (Ronald), and spend money (hire people), in order to compete and stay top-of-mind.
(Note: I tried to find a copy of the commercial online to no avail…so instead I leave you with one from the 80’s).
I don’t know about you, but when I go to the supermarket, I get overwhelmed with all of the labels associated with fish – organic, wild-caught, farmed. I’ve even seen salmon that says that it’s dyed pink or red. Um…really??
Key to the Gulf Wild program is a fish-tracking component that allows the buyer to “find my fish.” Each Gulf Wild fish is marked with a sequentially numbered gill tag just minutes after it is brought on board. When the catch reaches shore, the tag number is electronically recorded with the unique credentials of its fish. The information is made public via myGulfWild.com, where wholesalers, retailers and consumers can enter their tag number and confirm the species, where it was caught and information about the vessel and its captain.
Amazing, huh?
Also:
In addition, as a way to address concerns stemming from the oil spill, an independent international testing lab will routinely sample Gulf Wild seafood for oil-based contaminants.
The people have spoken…their concerns over the oil spill, coupled with an increased media focus on green/sustainability…have been heard.
In a lead-up to her Ultimate Australian Adventure, Oprah Winfrey last week aired Oprah’s Aussie Countdown, which featured a segment with a report by Australian TV personality Carrie Bickmore. Ms. Bickmore’s report, meant to educate the audience on Australian culture, sparked an upset when she said Australians like to spend time at “hip hangouts” called McDonald’s.
How’s that for a slap in the face? I guess Harpo execs think that their target audience is a bit slow on the uptake. Come on..really? Hip hangouts called McDonald’s??
In shocking news..
A spokesman for Harpo confirmed that McDonald’s was a sponsor for the Aussie Countdown episode, along with Qantas (an audience member received a free trip for two to Australia), Motorola (audience members received free phones) and Tourism Australia, which is covering the ground costs of the visit (no money is going directly to Harpo).
Had the production team given this a little more thought, I’m completely convinced that they could have come up with a better way to incorporate McDonald’s into the show.
Childhood obesity is already epidemic in some areas and on the rise in others. An estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide. According to the US Surgeon General, in the USA the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980.
The estimated number of overweight children under the age of 5 (worldwide) is equivalent, in size, to the entire population of Australia.
Mind boggling.
While the move by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is definitely a step in the right direction, I find it sort of ironic that on a list of the America’s fattest US cities, San Francisco comes in last. With San Francisco holding ground as the fittest city in the US, I’m not sure how much of an influence their new ban will have on the rest of the US.
You may be thinking this is just some marketing gimmick, but actually it’s what the people want.
People said they’d dated here, or met here, and wanted to get married here…
Sadly, due to the awesome economy, we are all now living in –
“The social mobility and incomes of young Hongkongers have fallen,” said poverty researcher Chua Hoi-wai of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. “They have saved money for years and can’t buy flats when they get married.”
So what better way to celebrate your wedding?
It’s cost-effective – only $400 for the ceremony & reception for 100 guests, and it’s symbolic (you met there).
The only downside, the celebration is alcohol-free (it is, after all, a child-friendly establishment), and remains open during the festivities…yeah, you’re not THAT special. Remember, you’re only paying $400, it’s not enough to shut the place down…
Maya Reports 