Videos: High-Fructose Corn Syrup Commercial Spoofs
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If you’re like me, you were disgusted by those high-fructose corn syrup commercials that came out a few months ago. They were paid for by the Corn Refiner’s Association.
In June 2008, CRA launched a 18 month, $20 to $30 million public relations and advertising campaign “to convince consumers that HFCS [high-fructose corn syrup] isn’t the evil it has been made out to be,” reported the Wall Street Journal. CRA ran ads in more than a dozen major newspapers — under the banner “time for a little food for thought” — stressing that HFCS has the “same natural sweeteners as table sugar and honey.” Source: Sourcewatch
Here’s one of the original ads:
Do they really think we are that stupid? Apparently we are, since the average American eats 60 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year. That’s over a pound a week!
High-fructose corn syrup has infiltrated the food supply and is in just about everything these days, from the obvious things like soft drinks and candy to the not-so-obvious like lunch meats and bread, ketchup and mayo, and cough syrup and crackers (Kate of the Accidental Hedonist blog has a whole list of foods containing HFCS.)
I found some funny spoof ads on YouTube and thought you’d love a good laugh on a Friday afternoon. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
This first one is brand new, made by Aaron Woolf, Curt Ellis, and Ian Cheney, creators of the documentary film King Corn, (if you haven’t seen King Corn, Netflix it already — it’s genius!):
This next one is a little lacking in terms of production values, but I just LOVE the guy’s response. You have to watch it — I laughed!
Here’s one with a kid who freaks out when his sister takes a bite out of an apple, because it doesn’t have high-fructose corn syrup in it, telling her that she needs to “do her part for the Corn Refiner’s Assocation”:
Lastly, I love this one, which visually underscores that HFCS is in EVERYTHING:
This is what I love about the internet — the fact that the average person can use tools like YouTube and blogs and Twitter and Facebook to call bullshit on industrial food propaganda.
Just say NO to high-fructose corn syrup!
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12/12/2008 at 12:00 pm Permalink
That was a brilliant post Ann Marie, i’m going to pass it on!
12/12/2008 at 2:02 pm Permalink
Those are hiliarious. I am glad I am not the only one outraged by those stupid commercials. I mute the tv every time one comes on. I saw an ad on yahoo the other day by the corn refiners that said most dietitians approve of high fructose corn syrup. Umm, excuse me, no we don’t.
12/12/2008 at 2:19 pm Permalink
I definitely thought of your blog when I first saw those commercials. And it was funny how the race of the actresses they chose make it seem like opposition to HFCS is a white mom’s thing while the black mom is seen as rational and better informed. Did you get that vibe? Thanks for all the spoof videos. They were fun to watch and I will be more careful to look at labels.
12/12/2008 at 4:02 pm Permalink
Thank you Ann Marie,
I linked to your post today.
This is something that needs to be heard.
Paula
12/12/2008 at 7:36 pm Permalink
I was doing a little research and read that the liver cannot process the extra unbonded fructose in hfcs so it bypasses the liver and goes directly to the cells and cannot be utilized for energy like most sugar can be but is stored directly as fat. Something along those lines. I’m convinced this stuff is THE reason America is fat. I think I was reading that on a WAP website article. I’ll try to find it.
12/12/2008 at 8:53 pm Permalink
Should a similar one be done for soybean oil? Maybe similar to that last one showcasing how that’s in everything.
13/12/2008 at 4:37 am Permalink
Helena, that is a great idea!
Maybe I’ll do that as part of the NO GMO campaign I’m going to be launching in the new year. I think soybean oil (and soy lecithin) is one of the biggest ways we are all consuming genetically modified organisms. Like HFCS, soybean oil is in everything!
Megan, thank you for that comment. I think I remember Sally Fallon talking about high levels of fructose and how damaging it is. Do try to find the article if you can!
15/12/2008 at 9:16 am Permalink
These were great, Ann Maire, I have not seen them but will be passing them along. They sum up all my thoughts, in a nice funny way, haha
15/12/2008 at 6:34 pm Permalink
In researching why HFCS is so bad I found this article interesting: http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html
-Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose.
-High fructose corn syrup can be manipulated to contain equal amounts of fructose and glucose, or up to 80 percent fructose and 20 percent glucose.
-Pure fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and robs the body of its micronutrient treasures in order to assimilate itself for physiological use.
-Glucose is metabolized in every cell in the body but all fructose must be metabolized in the liver.
-Fructose is converted to fatty acids by the liver at a greater rate than is glucose.
-Fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. This may be one of the reasons Americans continue to get fatter.
-Not only does fructose have more damaging effects in the presence of copper deficiency, fructose also inhibits copper metabolism–another example of the sweeteners double-whammy effect.
15/12/2008 at 8:01 pm Permalink
Megan, this is great information.
It’s incredible to me how much fatter Americans are today than they were say 20 or 30 years ago. The obvious thing would be to look at what has changed.
Like um HELLO high-fructose corn syrup.
08/02/2009 at 8:14 am Permalink
loving loving the spoofs
I think the momentum is against HFCS, but who knows?
But little satirical skits and shirts like this http://tshirtinsurgency.com/high-fructose-corn-syrup-t-shirt seems to be helping awareness bloom in an obese and stultified public
maybe
17/02/2009 at 8:06 am Permalink
Jen,
What they meant to say was that all nutritionists who were paid to give the ‘correct’ answer to their questions “approved” of High Fructose Corn Syrup. And truly, HFCS does lead to weight loss – after all, who doesn’t lose weight subsequent to their death?
03/04/2010 at 9:56 am Permalink
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the nice work Look forward to reading more from you in the future.