Topic: Market Share

The food industry utilizes "magical thinking" to convince consumers that added vitamins or antioxidants negate the negative effects of calories or sugar. Nestle traces this trend back to the early 1900s when vitamins were first discovered and immediately used as sales devices for processed cereals. This marketing strategy exploits human psychology to drive market share in a highly competitive surplus food economy.

The discussion links the marketing of the HPV vaccine to Merck's financial losses from the Vioxx scandal. The authors suggest the vaccine was a way to recoup revenue after Merck was forced to pay massive fines for clinical trial fraud related to the painkiller Vioxx.