Final answer:
Fast-food companies like McDonald's marketed to children to establish early brand loyalty, effectively cultivating a customer base from a young age.
Step-by-step explanation:
Fast-food companies such as McDonald's marketed directly to children with the primary goal of encouraging early brand loyalty to their products. They aimed to create lifelong customers through targeted marketing campaigns that often featured playgrounds, toys, mascots, and other child-friendly branding techniques. This marketing strategy is in alignment with the phenomenon known as the McDonaldization of Society, where the fast food business model has permeated various social institutions, creating a standardized and homogenized cultural landscape. The efforts were not to encourage healthier eating habits as adults, promote financial independence from parents, or instill acceptance of corporate values, but to solidify the connection between children and the brand from an early age.