Worse than the Ooga Chaka Baby: Gerber Generations Ad

I admit it, I watch too much TV.  It's a huge distraction and largely mind-numbing.  Except when I see this commercial.  I actually get disturbed on 3 levels with this one.  Hear me out.

Level 1:  That's not what they mean by "Transparent Marketing":

From the overly long arms to his fake smile, that's clearly a composite tot!  He produces vegetables and fruits from thin air.  Nobody's going to be fooled into thinking that's real, except maybe a child.  As the Franken-baby performs a magic trick, the narrator says, "The Gerber Generation is making your fruits and veggies disappear...the snack with a taste toddlers find magical..."  

With two allusions to magic tricks in the narration and a computer-created toddler performing the trick, I suspect Gerber is hoping to amuse a youngster who is watching.  If the child's entertained, the parent will tune in, just in time for the promise of a "magical" taste and the cut to classic gaping Gerber Baby face logo.  That little blue inked face has enough attachment to get a parent to buy in on its own (Gerber controls 83% of the baby food market, after all), but paired with the possibility of making "fruits and veggies disappear", you start to wonder what this new baby can do for you!  

Pseudo-foods for toddlers isn't a new thing for G-Baby, as evidenced by this 2001 ad for Gerber Graduates' smoothies (and fig newton bars?) but the advertising then was much more wholesome.  It is obvious what you would be getting with the purchase of these products as they look like things adults eat, but smaller.  There's no "magic" to be had, no promise but to nourish.

A little history on Gerber.  They are located in Fremont, Michigan, where they originated in 1927, as a part of the Fremont Canning Company.  In 1994, Gerber merged with Sandoz Laboratories (yep, the LSD folks).  In 2007, Gerber was sold to Nestle.  Nestle's product line includes bottled water, Nesquik, Carnation, PowerBar, and Lean Cuisine (more about Nestle).

The real trick with this ad is getting viewers to believe in the "magic" of good ol' Gerber, while introducing new parents to the idea of giving food replacements to their child.  Maybe you won't buy the magical fruit and vegetable pellets, but rather the Carnation "milk" or Nesquik you trust to keep your kid chock full of calcium.  

Level 2:  Manufactured Food = Magic Toddler Food?  Really?

According to the company fact sheet, Gerber Graduates Fruit & Veggie Melts (suggested retail price $2.99 for 3 1/4C fruit/veggie servings) are made for toddlers.  

They are described as:
  "not messy", 

  "easy to chew and swallow", and 

  "a perfect food for little fingers"

Toddlers, at 1-3 years old, are New To The World.  If you challenge them with new experiences they will grow.  When their mouths get on real foods they learn to chew, swallow and not choke (**side story at end of page**).  If they don't like something, you try it again on them because they are growing and changing and will change their tastes.  Just like babies, they are new enough to possess actual hunger signals that have not been ruined by reward pathways scorched with sugary snacks.  If hungry, a toddler will eat what's available.  Introduce a sweet reward alternative to food and begin building that reward bridge and a fussy eater.  

This is what is in the Very Berry Melts: 

Butternut squash puree, apple puree, banana puree, white grape juice (from concentrate), carrot juice concentrate, strawberry puree, blueberry puree, tapioca starch, purple carrot juice concentrate (color), pomegranate juice (from concentrate), gelatin, lactic acid esters of mono-and diglycerides, natural flavor, citric acid, lemon juice concentrate, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), apha tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e), blackberry juice concentrate, raspberry juice concentrate

What's that again?  Processed squash, apple, banana, strawberry, blueberry, 5 different juice concentrates, two fillers (tapioca and gelatin), and chemicals to enhance and enrich the product with vitamins C and E.  Some "experts" say that children should have juice.  Other "experts" say that even 100% juice is a bad idea, because you are stripping a fruit of its fiber (explained eloquently by Robert H. Lustig, MD).  Let's assume that juice is a part of your child's diet.  Do you really need to supplement with more juice in the snack?

Any of the berry juices listed will provide Vitamin C, as will the actual berries, even in a neat package for tiny hands.  Vitamin E is available in broccoli, yams, pumpkins, tomatoes, spinach, avocados and nuts.  Avocados are bland, mushy, fatty and contain both C and E, if you're wondering how you can solve this dilemma.  Sorry, but if you want a kid that eats well, you should strive to eat well.

Curiously, Gerber Graduates' Fruit & Veggie Melts come in two flavors: Truly Tropical and Very Berry.  Guess what else comes in those two flavors?  Pepcid Complete (oops, three flavors of the antacids: Tropical Fruit, Berry, and Cool Mint).  Getting the kids ready for the magic tastes grown-ups love?  Pepcid is not owned by Nestle, in case you were wondering.

Real food will be messy, these Melts say they are not.  It may be the only benefit they offer over real food.  Gerber began with canned fruits, vegetables and a beef-vegetable soup.  This product's remove from the real is what's mirrored by the Franken-tot.  All about surface & image, not whole nutrition.  Scary, not magic.  

Level 3: That Baby Face and Transcendence:
That Gerber Baby face represents much amusement for me and some friends.  It's a multi-part story, but you can play your own game & get in on it.  Grab a friend and begin staring at that baby.  Try to imitate him.  What is that expression?  Did you figure it out?  Why would they use that for the company image?

**I once worked with someone who, no matter what, would refuse to take gum when I offered.  I asked him about it and he said, "I've only had gum once or twice and that was a long time ago.  I think my tongue will think its food and try to swallow it."**