Okay I’m confused. I admit it. One tenet of Marketing for Good is that enhancing products to gain competitive advantage is but one of many ways marketers can make life a little better. Target Pharmacies completely revamped its prescription pill bottles, making them easier to read and easier to tell apart and gained competitive advantage in the process. So when food companies add dark chocolate to cereal, a proven anti-oxidant that might lower blood pressure, could this also be an example of Marketing for Good? I suppose the first issue to consider is whether or not chocolate in fact is a healthy ingredient in cereal. An American Heart Association press release notes: “If you have high blood pressure, a daily bar-sized serving of flavonol-rich dark chocolate might lower your blood pressure and improve insulin resistance, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.” The article goes on to caution people against consuming mass quantities of chocolate in the name of good health. Okay, I get it–A little chocolate is good for you like a little red wine is good for you. Personally I’m thrilled since I love both. But it still begs the question whether or not to praise or lambaste the folks at Quaker Oats for introducing Life Chocolate Oat Crunch and Kellogg’s for serving up Special K Chocolatey Delight. Clearly neither of these products qualify as health foods but both are better for you than some of their less nutritious shelf-mates (like Count Chocula and Lucky Charms!) All I know is that I have always considered chocolate brain food and it is my snack of choice when the ideas aren’t sparking. Clearly, I’m in in murky water here. Help me out if you can.