I have seen the end of the world, and it is called the "Special K Challenge."
OK -- too dramatic. But you're not alone if you sometimes wonder whether marketing's only goal is to create body image issues. When a colleague told me about the Special K Challenge, sponsored by Kellogg's Special K cereal, I couldn't believe her description. "Really?" I thought. "There's actually a countdown to 'swimsuit season,' and it's down to the second? And people compete with each other? This can't be true."
But here I am writing the article. Unfortunately, it's true.
The Kellogg's Special K Challenge -- An Extended Eating Disorder Trigger
I should be more specific. The Special K Challenge isn't just an eating disorder trigger. It's actually an eating disorder trigger rolled into a marketing gimmick (or is it the other way around?).
One of the first things you find when you check out the Challenge is a countdown clock pounding away in front of your eyes. It's a countdown to Memorial Day weekend, supposedly when swimsuit season begins. This establishes pressure to lose weight, which can encourage disordered eating.
Sadly, it doesn't stop there. You can invite others to the group to compete with them, as the website suggests. Imagine what it would be like to have a friend e-mail you to say, "I've lost two pounds on this Special K thing! You'd better join, or you're going to get further behind!" Personal competition further enhances the pressure by challenging one's self-image: "It's not that I don't look good...it's that I don't look as good as she does."
The Special K Challenge Mimics Pro-Ana Websites
A comment on the site's home page says, "Here you'll find a community where you can get and give support and tips and celebrate the success of losing every pound."
This is precisely what occurs on pro-ana sites. Disordered eating behaviors are reinforced through mutual encouragement. Will the site lead everyone who gets support for weight loss into disordered eating? No. But the language is too much like the language of unhealthy groups, and some will fall into eating that is far from healthy.
Targeting Image-Conscious Women
Why make the goal associated with swimsuits? This unabashedly focuses the campaign on women, who are generally more concerned with getting in shape for a given event. And swimsuit season is the scariest time of all for many, since more of the body is exposed. Never mind that you're in for a summer body-image letdown even if you achieve just the kind of body you want just in time for warm weather. The pressure itself creates shame, and actions that stem from feelings of shame are more likely to lead to self-harm than self-care. Hurting yourself to get a different body isn't worth it.
The Product Readers Are Really Buying
Ultimately, the Special K Challenge is like an empty shell because at its heart is nothing more than a simple diet (with all the risks that dieting brings) that you can probably recite by heart: Replace breakfast and lunch with Special K cereal, and then eat good snacks (also Special K products) and a normal dinner.
It's an awfully splashy website for what's really a pretty tired idea. Not too long ago, a maker of weight-loss shakes suggested this same diet -- "a shake for breakfast, another for lunch, and a sensible dinner." That diet doesn't seem too popular these days. I don't think the Special K diet will have a lot of staying power, either.
The Icing on the Cereal
The Challenge specifically targets new moms and brides-to-be. Prospective brides can even submit their wedding day to tailor their "plan" to help them reach their goal weight at just the right time.
What two groups of women are more emotionally vulnerable? These women need the support of good friends and family. Building self-esteem does not usually come via frenzied eating plans.
Grand Opening: The Eating Disorder Hall of Sadness
The way in which Kellogg's is disregarding the hearts and minds of its targeted market segment moves me to create a new category. I'm calling it the Eating Disorder Hall of Sadness. For ignorance about eating disorder development that leads to potential harm to thousands of readers, the Hall of Sadness assigns charter membership to Kellogg's Special K Challenge. May Kellogg's find ways to serve its market much better.
