Essay #3 ~Carly Keone

Carly Keone

Nancy Cook

Writing 122

20 November 2013

Is Sugar Killing Us?

Everybody loves tasty treats like cupcakes, cookies, and chocolate, but who would ever guess that sugar could be toxic? According to the advertisement, “Sugar is Killing Us”, it is. Although sugar is universally accepted as being delicious, its effects can be dangerous and even deadly. The way that the ad conveys this idea is by using simplistic cartoon animation accompanied by mellow music and a narrator that talks like a teenager. By doing so, the ad becomes easy and fun to watch and appeals to younger audiences as well as adults. At the same time, the viewers are learning a lot of information about the negative effects that sugar has on the body. Using this method, the advertisement does a great job of persuading viewers that sugar is slowly killing Americans and that a change in diet is drastically needed to overcome this addictive and potentially toxic substance.

The way that the ad animates their figures has a strong effect on the audience’s reaction towards that object. Everything is simply drawn and easy to take in. By not using a lot of detail in the background, all of the attention is focused on the actions of the animated figures. They first portray sugar as an adorable cube with bright colors accompanied by happy music, and a little girl who is happily grabbing onto a giant treat. This establishes a relation to the audience, who probably also finds pleasure in sweets, and obtains their attention. Shortly after, the background shifts into darker colors with suspenseful music and has that same cute sugar drawing transformed into a sickly, evil figure barfing ooze. By having this sudden and drastic change in animation, it creates sympathy for the main character whom the audience relates to as well as a mood of disgust and distrust toward sugar.

The use of animation not only leaves a strong and lasting impression, but it can also make the concepts easier to understand. It provides a visual representation of the statistics concerning sugar’s effects on health which helps many people, especially children, learn the facts better. Having the more complicated words pop out in written form while they’re being described assists the viewer in understanding the ideas more. It has cartoons of the brain, leptin proteins, pancreas, and insulin, which helps to see the negative result sweets have on the body by showing how sugar interacts with them all. The ad also clarifies and simplifies the science behind the claims by referring to all the information as having been proven by “scientists”.  By simplifying everything in this manner, it allows the viewers to easily understand the basics while not overloading them with unnecessary information. This way they are encouraged to learn more about the issue in depth if they so desire. By doing more research, one can discover that sugar has been found to increase the risk for metabolic syndrome, heart and liver disease, diabetes, and insulin resistance which may actually be a cause of cancer. “Cancer researchers now consider that the problem with insulin resistance is that it leads us to secrete more insulin, and insulin (as well as a related hormone known as insulin-like growth factor) actually promotes tumor growth” (Taubes). Although the research is technically non-conclusive, this is only due to the fact that not enough research has been made in this area to really support or deny the overwhelming amount of evidence which suggests that sugar can indeed be a toxin.

This ad is targeted toward every American who eats sugar. It’s meant to be a warning to everyone about consuming fructose, despite gender, race, or social class since everyone can be affected equally. It challenges cultural belief that sugar is not harmful and encourages Americans to change their eating habits. Outsiders viewing this ad would see how much we’ve come to depend on sugar as a nation and how high levels of fructose is found in 80% of all foods currently available in the US (Broggi). As a result, more than one-third of adults in the US are obese (Ogden). In addition to these warnings, the ad also provides a solution by pointing out that food companies only produce what consumers buy; if we only buy healthy foods, then companies would be forced to produce foods with less added sugars. In this way, it strongly encourages the change of diet to healthy, wholesome foods and the possibility of achieving self-fulfillment by doing so. At the very end of the ad is a promotion to visit their Facebook page, which is another method to stay connected to the younger generations. By appealing to a wide demographic, the ad increases the chances of its message affecting many people.

The “Sugar is Killing Us” advertisement succeeds in persuading the viewer through its use of animation to create a lasting impression, simplifying difficult concepts, and pointing out that the issue affects a wide variety of people. These methods in conjunction with a manageable call to action help make it a very convincing ad. It has even convinced this writer to cut back on the sugar and seek a more healthy lifestyle. No doubt its message will reach many more people and affect them in a similar way.

Works Cited

Broggi, Ariel. “Sugar is Killing Us.” Youtube, 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of obesity in the United States,

2009–2010. NCHS data brief, no 82. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012.

 

Taubes, Gary. "Is Sugar Toxic?" The New York Times 17 Apr. 2011:

MM47+.Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.