ABSTRACT
Alisha is one of many overweight children around the world. Societies globally are debating what steps are necessary to halt the rates of childhood obesity that have been characterized as an "epidemic" and to decrease the related health, economic and social costs. The case explores the issues and challenges the reader to specifically consider the potential effects of ethnically targeted food and beverage marketing to minority youth from an aggregate perspective, along with any responsibility of the food and beverage industry. Targeted marketing involves strategically talking to specific consumer groups— that is, "target markets"—in a way that prompts them to think, feel and act in line with marketing objectives—usually product consumption. Children like Alisha see and respond not only to marketing targeted specifically to ethnic minority children and to children in general, but also to marketing based on ethnic appeals aimed at adults and marketing targeted to the general population.
