Certain images can sum up a city. The poor riversides of Kolkata, the undernourished children, and its dilapidated buildings. But for the last 20 years, scenes from Indian cities have been shaken by the arrival of American-style shopping centers, like this one, filled by Western brands. Move, make room. The city mayor and a minister have come to the opening with one of the most famous actors on the Indian subcontinent.
Welcome to the paradise of shopping and gastronomy. Upstairs, next to traditional foods, three Western fast food brands are about to open. Subway, KFC and soon Domino's Pizza, the brand's 600th point of sale in India.
How much is it? 59 rupees, sir. 59 rupees, okay.
59 rupees, 80 euro cents. It's a western product at a very low price, the main sales argument of the brand, and there are some even cheaper. This pizza is a starting range for Domino's and the main thing is like we are introducing this pizza is only at 49 that is the thing so that's why it's most popular Zamenia 49 is like a dream come true. I think so.
For myself and for the guests also. Industrial food is still the stuff of dreams in developing countries and they are promising markets. In France and Europe this fairy tale is less of a success.
Safety campaigns against junk food have been shown for 15 years. By eating less sugar and fat, you can help to protect your health. In 2004, a law was voted to limit the effects of food marketing.
And the adverts for these products will have to contain health warnings by law in an effort to combat obesity. For good health, avoid eating too much sugar, fat or salt. Under pressure, industries reduced the quantities of sugar, salt and fat in their products.
products in France. But they still find ways to get around this obstacle. Online, where ads are less regulated, they target new consumers.
In countries in the South, brands go even further, even going into schools and load their products with fat and sugar. ...been checked by the body... Investigation into the new territories of the fast food giants. In India, they move from no food to bad food. It is going to be disastrous for public health.
When you think of Rio de Janeiro, some images always come to mind. Copacabana beach, sculpted bodies, easy living and a passion for sport. These common themes are often exploited by western brands, especially for fizzy drinks. Football, favelas and sugary drinks. But the reality in Brazil is that one in two adults are overweight and one in seven are obese.
And according to this spokesperson, spokesperson for a consumer association, fizzy drink brands cannot consider themselves blameless. Excessive marketing is one of the main reasons for the rise in obesity here. Children become addicted from a very early age, and then it's much harder to wean them... They drink a lot of fizzy drinks before the age of two, even from their baby's bottle. Parents give this type of product to their children because they believe that if adverts and businesses promote them so much, it can't be harmful.
Brazil is the third biggest market in the world for Coca-Cola. The truth is that I love fizzy drink. I'm addicted. We drink it nearly every day at home, and also when I go out.
It's my grandson who likes them a lot. The big bottles are for me and the little ones for him. He takes them straight out of the fridge and it's exactly the size of his little hand.
Crisps. Ballo. Crisps. In Brazil there is no law around food marketing, so brands don't hesitate to Kansas for clients from school age. Belo Horizonte, the sixth biggest city in the country.
These neighborhoods in the hills and this public college are not the poorest, but it has no budget for extracurricular activities. But everything could soon change thanks to a famous red brand. Let's go!
Go on, put on your costume. These 14 year old children will participate in a competition organized by Coca-Cola between schools of the city, the Schools Festival. General rehearsal. The winning school gets 15,000 reals, that's right? And?
Yes, 5,000 reals. That would be great! We could buy elastic, footballs, equipment for volleyball. Whatever the result, it will be good for the school.
This teacher signed the children up. The even has the official title of brand ambassador. Unthinkable in France. College students join 4,000 other teenagers in the largest auditorium. And of course, the party begins with a Coke.
Of course we choose to drink Coke. They're the best. Have you given out a lot of water so far?
20 bottles maximum. And coke? A lot. All the refrigerators.
And how much is that? About 2,000 cans. That day the brand is everywhere. And yet it's a school event.
You spend a lot of money on this operation? Yes, we've invested a lot, because the goal is to make the children dream, which is the best gift that we can give them. Well, I don't mean children, but teenagers from 12 to 19 years and who are our public.
Don't be stressed, breathe. It's time for the pupils of the region to go on stage. Thanks to the well-known Fizzy drink brand, they are able to get their moment of glory.
Are you aware that this is marketing? Yes, well, more or less, because I don't think Coke needs that. You see, the brand is already so well known. Everybody here knows it.
Coke forever. Today, tomorrow, Coca-Cola forever. The most powerful fizzy drink brand on the planet has guaranteed the lifelong loyalty of these Brazilian schoolchildren.
This country is still young and manufacturers aren't waiting until high school to reach the children. McDonald's has been sending its clown, Ronald, into playgrounds for 27 years. A marketing practice that is legal but controversial in Brazil.
Last year, a children's protection charity tried to have it banned. But at McDonald's, they prefer not to talk about it. You can't just answer two or three questions about your show? No, I can't.
Really. Nothing at all? Unfortunately not.
Sorry. A school headmistress helps us to find out more. Here are the children's lunches.
That's for Ronald. That's for Giulia. In Sao Paulo, Ana Marina Fazoli tries to prevent junk food from entering her school. A daily battle to protect her pupils aged 3 to 14. In Brazilian canteens in general, they serve crisps, snacks, often fried, bread or fizzy drinks. It's really difficult, because it's not just the adolescents who want them.
The younger ones do too. We really need to make more effort to educate them in this area. At our request, the headmistress contacted McDonald's by telephone to get Ronald the Clown to come. And a few days later... Hey, what's up kids?
Everything going okay? Hello, welcome. Wow, what an honor.
We pass ourselves off as pupils'parents. Hello. Hello. Here we go.
Everybody is here. I want everybody to clap their hands so I can make my entrance. Music. Without her we can live, in a way, no sir, the true nature must be treated worse and worse, with affection. The sketches are about the environment and sport, no reference to the brand.
On the actor's costume, the yellow logo has even been covered up by a red cloth, so they can't be accused of advertising. One, two, three, it's off. We all clap loudly. But the children see all too well the link with the product.
For our helpers, thank you very much, you can go back to your places. Goodbye, goodbye. Does that make you want to eat at McDonald's? Yeah. Yes.
Are you going to ask your parents? Yes. What do you want? I want nuggets, fries, a toy and a fizzy drink. A big fizzy drink.
And you, when you get out of here, what are you going to ask your parents for? Fries and ice cream. I want ice cream. This type of show has already taken place in hundreds of schools. Does the brand accept that this is underhand advertising?
We asked McDonald's Brazil and we received this reply by email. And who is that? A clown.
Which clown? The clown from McDonald's. Yes, it's Ronald. He already came to the crash I was at before. There is no law or regulation that prevents this practice in Brazil.
However, last year the association's complaint led the Sao Paulo prosecutor to act. Javier Ballo sent a letter to the state authorities of Sao Paulo in charge of education to warn them. As a precaution, we recommend not allowing these shows in schools.
The most effective marketing is not the one that we see. Subtle and repetitive adverts are much more effective, especially with children. A child doesn't separate the message from an advert from another message. Here's what we filmed this morning. If we collect the water we use to rinse the washing, we can reuse it to water the plants and wash the floor, right?
Yes. I feel completely helpless. I've sent recommendations, but apparently the Secretary of State for Health hasn't followed up, despite two letters to the ministry.
In Brazil, the food giants count on the weakness of the public administration. In other developing countries, they offer products that are much worse for public health. India.
1 billion 300 million inhabitants. A priority market for Western brands looking for openings. Here, street food is healthy and good value. To compete, European and American American companies play on the majority of consumers'lack of information.
In this huge shopping center in Kolkata, among the restaurants, it's a brand of fried chicken that has the highest turnover. The American brand has changed. changed its recipe for its Indian sauce.
Spicy. And it's worked. The restaurant attracts 3,000 customers on average per day. A record in India.
So what do you want? I want that one, the wool. Which, there's a burger, chicken or a wrap? I want it all.
In Europe, or the United States, menus include bottles of water. Not here. Only fizzy drinks or juices, but the consumers don't complain.
To me it's clean, hygiene, I can see everything being prepared. I haven't been sick ever, that's why I trust it. It tastes very good.
Healthy and good. It's a little healthy and it is less oily. The managers are aware that their customers are lacking correct information, but aren't authorized to say anything.
We record this conversation discreetly. You don't have any customers asking you information about fat or sugar or things like that? Very few.
We are health conscious but not up to like Europe and US people. Oh really? So we are becoming aware but the level is still in India. The current paradox is that while some Indians still suffer from malnutrition, another part of the population, the middle class, is suffering from an obesity epidemic. 30% of adolescents are overweight, a figure that has doubled in five years.
Suraj is 15 and at 5 foot 5, weighs 15 stone 8 pounds. Spicy chicken kara. The teenager is a fast food junkie.
We have like four days off work. We go out with friends and family. So we have all these pizzas and stuff and everything.
We enjoy our life. Would you say you're addicted to it? I don't think so I'm addicted but addicted is... Different thing, I'm not doing anything else like I'm not smoking or I'm not drinking So that is called addictive. This is not addictive But you know it's not good for you Yeah, I know but What to do now?
What do you mean what to do? What I'll say na But you don't want to give up eating? But now I have to give up na For the operation thing I have to give up and I will give up Suraj has an appointment in this clinic, which specializes in stomach surgery. Serious operations for extreme cases.
300 patients per month are operated on here. More and more are adolescents. Welcome, Sulik.
Hi, doctor. Welcome. How are you?
I'm fine, doctor. All set for tomorrow? Yeah.
Last interview before the surgery. So you are the one who is going to be the surgeon, right? Yes. I'm going to be the surgeon.
I'm going to be the surgeon. I'm going to be the surgeon. I'm going to be the surgeon.
I'm going to be the surgeon. You have about 54 kg extra weight which you need to lose which will start from tomorrow. After a month, be very happy if you join your PT exercise and you can be a very tall handsome boy. He is already pre-diabetic, his hormones are changed, we see that his estrogens in the body are becoming more prominent, giving rise to gynecomastia and feminine type of deposition of fat. In addition to that, he has psychosocial comorbidities.
I tried everything but no control in my mouth so... Doctors are helping. TV, advertisement, media also play a lot of role in promoting kids to see some film star, some celebrity advertising for something which is ideally not correct.
And all this with some inclination to be advanced like a westerner probably could be a reason for a temptation. Suraj's operation will take place the next day. What's the matter, boyfriend? I really want a mac potato tiki. Okay.
TV adverts offer more and more ultra-low-cost offers with one promise. International quality. When you take the freshest, highest quality ingredients, mix them with a hundred percent real chicken and add our secret herbs and spices to it, which you get get is just good food. It's food that's finger-licking good.
Is this really true? Are the products sold in India the same as over here? To find out, we compared them.
We chose McDonald's and KFC, two brands that are very widespread in India. Here's what we found. At McDonald's, a McChicken in India contains two and a half times more sugar than the French sandwich.
The fillet of fish contains twice as much saturated fat. Same goes for the McNuggets. As for the Indian fries, they are off the chart.
Nearly six times more saturated fat. The results are no better at KFC. The fries in India contain 10 times as much salt. The hot wings have three times as much fat. In France, such levels would be unthinkable because of nutritional commitments made by these multinationals.
We wanted to show these results to a pioneer in the fight against junk food. He runs the Centre for Science and Environment, a very respected NGO in India. Chandra Bhushan wrote a damning report in 2012. We show him our comparison results.
These results are actually quite shocking that the same multinational company selling product in Europe and India they have double standards. For them you know having such a high amount of fat, sugar and salt is not a problem in India whereas they will have to meet very strict regulations in France. So this is shocking to say the least.
This is a very very shocking result. We brought the sandwich with the most calories in McDonald's in India. The spicy paneer wrap, a vegetarian cheese sandwich.
Its nutritional composition can be found on the brand's website. It has 51 grams of fat, 25 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of salt. If you eat this one wrap, then you shouldn't be eating anything in the day.
Even a bread. If you show it to a mother who is not about aware about these issues the mother will buy this for her child. This is the worst kind of corporate responsibility you can think about where they give an image of healthy food but the food is not healthy. It's not just to make consumers addicted that certain brands sell food that is so high in sugar and fats.
That's what this former consultant at Domino's Pizza, the most developed fast food brand in India, explains to us. This former chef prefers to stay anonymous. This also I made. Can we get one garlic bread?
He wants to show us products that illustrate the deceptive marketing of the brand. Garlic bread, do you put butter in it? No, oil.
Oil, okay. It's for 20 rupees, which is like 9 inches. It's basically bread with the filling and that's the sauce, you know, that's the sauce which, and there's so much oil. It's not the real mozzarella.
And inside it's supposed to be cheesy. This is like a cream emulsified mayo. Right there. Now it gives you an effect of a real cheese. But this is basically like a sauce.
So, it's definitely no dairy. Why don't they use a real butter? It's expensive. After six months of working for the company, the chef decided to resign. Sickened.
Everything is superb to make money and as long as money is getting made so there is no right or wrong. They had a lot of problems with me because I used to give food as food not as chemical construction of something but all my ideas in all rejected because they were extremely expensive because I can't make a pizza for 30 rupees I mean I can't which has to value people at the end of it it's not right you know because at the end of it you just it's a cycle which will come back to you so yeah in India Domino's doesn't provide any nutritional information it's legal in India but would be illegal in France We had these products analyzed in a laboratory, starting with a pizza filled with fake cheese. It contains 52 grams of fat, the equivalent of five soup spoons of oil, and effectively not a single gram of cheese.
As for the 30 cents garlic bread, it contains 11.6% saturated fats. A nutritional nightmare. We approached Domino's, McDonald's, KFC, but to no avail. None of them responded to our interview requests.
So we went to an event that was open to the press. The General Assembly of the Association of Indian Restaurants in a trendy bar in New Delhi. All of the heads of the major brands were there, having a drink. Including the Director General of Domino's.
Pizza in India Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt once again, I have to ask you one question please. I'm not out yet, I got one interview, sorry. Why is Domino's publishing no information about nutrition in India? No, I have no answer.
Because Domino's is publishing information in the US. You don't want to answer? I don't want to. You don't want to answer on that?
No, I don't. Does it mean that Dominos doesn't care about nutrition? Can you just leave this place? I am a journalist.
I ask questions. The head of HR comes to the rescue. My question is very simple.
Obesity is a problem in your country. Absolutely. There are so many other problems also. So, isn't it not responsible not to publish any details?
See, I am not authorized to speak. I am not authorized to speak. That's why I am saying whatever questions you have, you will get all the answers and we will send you all the responses. Obesity is just one problem among others to Dominos. We never receive a response, despite trying multiple times.
Only the American headquarters sent us an email, redirecting us to the Indian branch. In countries in the South, the junk food giants take advantage of the lack of legislation. Elsewhere, where these rules exist, others manage to get around them.
5.30 p.m. in France, a time when many families are having their after-school snack. For Nathan and his sisters, it always ends the same way.
Everyone on their tablets. While television usage is diminishing, the Internet is skyrocketing for children. I put that there like that and like that. So for ten years businesses have created Facebook pages and worked out how to make themselves popular. Of the 20 most followed brands in France half are from the food industry.
Above all they They've developed advertisement games on the internet to put forward their brand. They're known as Advergames. Oreo, Fanta, Haribo, the products are the center of these games, and unlike the TV ad adverts, no health warnings.
Neither is there any obligation to indicate that it is an advert. Only the Nestlé group state this for one of its games, but it's written in very small type. This is an advert. Why do you think they make these games, in your opinion? They put the games because...
They added the game because they think it's fun for people to play. Do you think it's an ad, the game? No, it's a game.
Their mother comes to see what's happening. So what are you doing? You have to kill these bugs. It's hard.
You have to click on them. It's a bit idiotic as a game. The deceptive side is that it doesn't matter.
It doesn't look like an advert. They don't say, eat Oreos, buy Fanta, have X or Y cereals for breakfast. So I think it's a bit disguised.
Now it's up to them to separate the two. It's really a first for me. I didn't know this existed. What are the consequences of these games on children? What are the differences from a television advert?
A researcher just wrote a report on marketing in the food industry destined for children and she focused on these advergames. We eat with our eyes. The images of the food make you want to eat it and the main thing with digital is that it's more interactive and fun. The child isn't ...passive like in front of the television.
He's really the player in the game on the Internet or when interacting on social media. Also, we have worrying figures that show that up until the age of 15, children... don't recognize that it's a brand that has created this game and they don't realize the marketing intention.
We show her some of the games that we have selected. It's important to keep an eye on the time that the child spends on the game, since they will be encouraged to play very often to improve their performance. And it's a very fun world, and all the time they are playing, they are being encouraged to play.
encouraged to follow the brand and the product. Games to keep a close eye on, especially as their effects on public health are worrying, notably for those who are overweight. In this hospital in the Paris region, an obesity specialist has to battle more and more with digital marketing.
Hello Adrien, let's go. How are you? Take off the shorts so we can weigh you. 5'8 and 14 stone 13 pounds.
Adrien, 15, has been followed for a year. He's been fighting for a year in his battle against his weight, but he is constantly being solicited. Do you have games on your phone?
Yes. And have you noticed the ads? Yes.
There was advertising from time to time. Yes, food and fizzy drinks. What brands?
McDonald's. Ah, so McDonald's and Coke are there. Sometimes they just come up, but you can't block them.
With seven kilograms lost already, Adrien is on the right path. Well done. Enjoy the holidays. Others find it harder to resist temptation. College...
As the appointment starts, a little brother entertains himself with the McDonald's games application. No burger or fries to be seen. But the Happy Meal mascot is very visible, which gets the doctor's attention.
So, have you finished the games? No, I'm just in the middle. I'm in the middle of doing them all. As soon as he wants to download the app, he can download the app and play it on his computer. I have to check.
So I've given the OK, because McDonald's is pretty harmless. Harmless? Yes, it's just coloring in.
And for you, is it advertising? No, they already know McDonald's. They don't need ads.
Does it make you want to go? Yes, it makes me want to go. wanted.
That is what is underhand in this non-ad, which really is one. Having the McDonald's app right in front of your eyes. It can make you think, we haven't been for a while, why don't we go tonight? And, uh...
Sit down a little bit, please. Yes, please. Good night.
Have a good holiday. See you soon. This commitment also applied to the AdvoGames, but no sanction was in effect. However, we discover that most of the games are available on iTunes or Google Play for children over 4, free and with no mention of parental permission. We contacted these brands.
Some of them replied to us exclusively by email. The The The The The The None of the companies or their communication agencies would reply to our questions on camera. To understand their marketing strategy, we had to do a little roleplay.
We passed ourselves off as a fizzy drink manufacturer. We started by creating a fake brand with the help of a graphic artist. A very sugary fruit juice called Swag.
A little cutting and pasting workshop. A first test to the target audience. We're going to need an advergame to sweeten the pill.
We get in contact with several specialized ad agencies. They've made some very popular games for well-known brands. La Chute for the brand Oasis, downloading now. two million times. Les Aventures de Berlin, which gives centre stage to crisps in a world of cheese.
And The Sight for Children, tasty comics by KFC. Two million regular visits. This game involves collecting the most fries.
To spice up the exercise, we add sugar to the fruit juice. The bottle is displaying a particularly high level. We film with a hidden camera.
First agency. Hello, we have a meeting with BIP. We show them our fruit juice. We want to compete with Oasis Phantom. We have the budget for the app.
The idea is to be in another world that is fun and can speak to a child. Children as in children, children? Yes, that's our main target. OK, that's very clear. The ad executive shows us the last game created by the agency.
The client? One of the top five food groups worldwide. It's a very, very simple game because it's children who will play it, and you play with the hero who is on the packaging in a universe which is that of the brand. The client of the agency had committed to not advertising to under 12s. However, the game is clearly aimed at small children.
What I'm telling you and the strategy we're not allowed to publish. We can't say that we're targeting children. In fact, we can't target children that are under 11. It's tea time. No comment on the amount of sugar. To find out more, a second meeting with an agency that claims to be the leader in advertising games in France.
MUSIC This company director has just created an app for a chocolate company that has been downloaded several million times. They've increased their revenue by 30% on their biscuit range. 27%, I think. Do we know what age...
range this is for no but it's tea time for children so they're very chocolate flavored muffins really for kids so I think it matches with your target We are going to be given some trade secrets based on psychology. Generally, we manage to put the brands in at places which give the most pleasure in the game. They're going to be exposed to the brand five to ten times per session. It's thanks to the brand that you progress, that you win a bonus.
And that generates pleasure hormones that make you happy, and it's... associated with the brand, it's very effective. We requested an interview on the marketing effectiveness of ADVA Games with these agencies and their clients. No response. We wanted to show these images to Dr. Fidalgo, the child or obesity specialist.
Thank you very much, see you soon. Thank you, goodbye. It's thanks to the brand that you progress, and that generates pleasure hormones that make you happy. It's impressive in its pertinence.
We know that video games are addictive for children, so there's this connection of... two addictions, games and sugar. And I think it's infuriating for us professionals.
We struggle daily trying to get across a message to the children that as soon as they get home and play a game, it will probably make them disappear. I hope that we'll manage to legislate against that, and I'll support it as a health professional. Exactly that. Legislate.
In France, food advertising is supposed to regulate itself through the regulation of advertising authority, the ARPP. It's led by businesses and television channels. Stéphane Marina is the general manager.
Welcome. It has just written a report that concludes that 99.8% of the ads broadcast in 2014 respected ethical obligations, including those online. But the Adva games are not taken into account.
We show him the game created by the brand Oreo. So you get points by consuming. Yes, but that's the That's the principle of reward.
It's universal, either with points or gold bars, or if it's food, the product. So if I have a poster in the street, I have to feature a health warning, but not if I'm making a children's game. Yes, because it wasn't foreseen. There's no obligation. Nothing has been foreseen, even though obesity levels continue to rise in France, especially in poorer families.
Nothing has happened simply because the public authorities know the economic impact of the food industry. And there is currently a lack of political courage to change things. But it's true that currently in the public sphere, it's not a question that is particularly present in France. And nothing in France will change soon.
There is no project to change the laws relating to advertising on the Internet, even though this is dramatically on the rise. Back in India, the country where everything is allowed, where disclosing what is in your product is concerned. We find Suraj, the adolescent, one hour before his operation to reduce his stomach. Good morning. All the best.
Ready to come to the theatre? Yeah. All the best. Not scared now. Very bold boy.
I'm excited. All my fat will get loose, loose enough. But I have to take a control on me, keep a control on me. What do you mean control on me?
I have to not eat all the junk foods, Pepsi and all. Do not drink also. General anaesthetic. The surgeon begins the operation.
This looks like the liver which has become so big. It's all because it's fat-laden. If I touch, you can see a yellow discoloration, which means the liver is fat-laden and very large. is going to entirely remove the adolescent's stomach before replacing it in the abdomen, smaller and tighter. It went very well.
He's doing fine, nothing to worry about. Four months later, we find out that Suraj has lost more than four stone ten pounds. This adolescent needed a surgical operation to get over his addiction to junk food. A few months ago, the 20 biggest food multinationals made an announcement. Nutritional standards that will apply worldwide.
But again, there are no sanctions if the criteria are not respected and the companies are left to regulate themselves. Date of application, 2018. Until then, in two years'time, obesity will have killed 5.6 million people worldwide.