Last night on Channel 4, there was an hour-long programme called "Cadbury v McVitie's: Battle of the Brands" which was ostensibly billed as a documentary, but the cynic in me feels it effectively amounted to an hour-long advertisement for two multinational food giants who specialise in producing unhealthy foods with minimal nutritional value.They also specialise in producing bars of chocolate which have shrunk in size, yet have increased in price over the last decade or so. This is a prime example of 'shrinkflation'.
Last month, a similar programme was broadcast by Channel 4 entitled "Nando's v KFC: Battle of the Brands" which effectively served as free advertising for both brands. They also broadcast a series last year about Hotel Chocolat (who were recently taken over by the American junk food giant Mars Inc, in case anyone didn't know). I thought there were supposed to be restrictions on junk food advertising before 9pm yet these programmes were broadcast at 8pm. The programme itself, as with the others I mentioned, was effectively advertising dressed up as a documentary for these multinational conglomerates specialising in junk food. Am I just a pearl-clutcher for not enjoying these shows, or at least not wanting them to be shown before the watershed?