Episode 4 Treats
The concept of the treat is hardwired into most of us from earliest childhood. Sweets, biscuits, and cake have always been viewed as the ideal childhood treats or rewards. The inextricable nature of the association between sugar and childhood is evidenced by the big annual events in a child’s life: birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and Hallowe’en – all of which involve a glut of sweet treats. But what is it that makes advertisers’ use of cute characters and bright colours particularly effective with children?
Philip Boucher-Hayes travels to a Wexford primary school with Sheena Horgan (author of Candy Coated Marketing and designer of a new eduschools’ programme helping children to question advertising messages) to carry out an experiment where he commissions the children to come up with an ad for colourful Unicorn Toast.
But it isn’t just children who crave treats – there’s a whole category of food and drink that’s marketed as adult indulgence. Pimped-up doughnuts and popcorn, as well as a colourful array of fruity cocktails, fall into this category. At the Rolling Doughnut’s iconic O’Connell Street kiosk, Philip samples the traditional doughnut with father and daughter team Michael and Lisa Quinlan and with drinks expert Susan Boyle is surprised to find out just how much sugar is in one cocktail.
In the kitchen, chef Hilary O’Hagan-Brennan challenges him to a race: microwave popcorn versus stove popped. In the food lab, he compares the health-giving polyphenols in Hilary’s popcorn versus commercial varieties. At the National Botanic Gardens, director Matthew Jebb introduces Philip to his second most addictive plant after tobacco: sugar cane, while dietitian Aveen Bannon casts a cold eye on sweet treats and suggests some healthy alternatives.