Posted on 01/19/2006 4:10:03 AM PST by SheLion
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A consumer group wants to keep Tony the Tiger from promoting sugary cereals on the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon show or anywhere else kids are watching.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said on Wednesday it would sue Kellogg Co., the maker of cereals such as Frosted Flakes, and Viacom Inc., which runs the Nickelodeon cable network, if the companies do not change some marketing practices aimed at children.
The Center said letters had been sent to Kellogg and Viacom saying it would settle for a commitment from the companies within 30 days rather than sue.
But, the Center added, if its demands were not met, a lawsuit would be filed asking a Massachusetts court to stop the companies from marketing junk foods in venues where 15 percent or more of the audience is under age 8, and to stop promoting junk foods through Web sites, toy giveaways, contests and other techniques aimed at that age group.
"The industry has had decades to clean up its act, but instead it has only intensified its marketing," the Center's executive director, Michael Jacobson, said at a news conference, where he displayed crackers, cookies and other snacks dotted with television characters.
The proposed lawsuit would mark the latest attempt to battle the growing obesity crisis in the United States through the courts. The would be plaintiffs, including the Center, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and two parents, assert Kellogg and Viacom could be forced to pay billions of dollars in damages if found liable in a trial.
A widely watched lawsuit filed in 2002 accused fast food leader McDonald's Corp. of using misleading advertising to lure children into eating unhealthy foods. McDonald's has called the lawsuit frivolous and parts of the case have been dismissed.
KEEPING KIDS AWAY FROM JUNK FOODS
If a suit were filed, it would contend that Kellogg and Nickelodeon are harming children since the overwhelming majority of food products marketed to them are high in sugar and fat.
"It's hard for a parent to compete with so many ads making junk food fun and cool," Sherri Carlson, a mother of three who would be a plaintiff in a lawsuit, told reporters. "Although I have a strict policy against junk cereals in my house ... this doesn't stop my children from asking me for them, especially after seeing enticing ads."
Nickelodeon said in a statement that it is "an acknowledged leader and positive force in educating and encouraging kids to live healthier lifestyles," and that it would continue to encourage advertisers to provide balanced marketing.
The company said it has also licensed its characters for "good-for-you" products, such as a deal that has SpongeBob characters on packages of Grimmway carrots.
A Kellogg spokeswoman said the company just learned about the proposed action, but would "continue to educate and inform consumers of all ages about the importance of both balanced nutrition and physical activity in maintaining a healthy lifestyle."
The Center said that, of 168 ads for food that appeared on Nickelodeon during a review in the fall, 88 were for foods with poor nutritional quality. Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants appeared on packages of Kellogg's Wild Bubble Berry Pop-Tarts, which the Center categorized as junk food.
The findings follow a study released last month that found ads influence the foods preferred by children, especially the very young.
The Center's Jacobson said his group was forced to threaten a suit because federal regulators and Congress would not enforce laws against deceptive or harmful marketing.
"The (Federal Trade Commission) and Congress have failed to protect families from commercial exploitation," he said.
The FTC's chairman, Deborah Majoras, has said she opposes the idea of imposing new regulations to ban or restrict children's food advertising and marketing.
Majoras has opposed the idea of imposing new regulations on the industry, instead urging more self-regulation and further efforts to educate parents and children about nutrition.
"If there is evidence of illegal deception in specific advertising, the FTC, the states' attorneys general, and the industry's self regulatory bodies can all take action," said Lee Peeler, deputy director of the agency's consumer protection bureau.
(With reporting by Kenneth Li in New York, Nichola Groom in Los Angeles, Susan Heavey in Washington and Jessica Wohl in Chicago)
Remember Cracker Jacks? I hated them, but at the ballgames would buy a box just for the prize, LOL! But that was it for me. My parents said you can get one thing, if I wasted the eats for a prize, oh well! Too bad, so sad!
We had no choice. If we didn't eat the cereal, we'd be staring at Farina every morning for a month! You only have to live through that once to figure out how mom played the game. LOL
Wrong. Cereal is very nutritious and is an excellent snack or substitute for dinner for finicky kids.
CPI is a bunch of busybodies who want to control what other people do with their lives.
Oh, my mom would be ticked too. I can still hear her "you eat that cereal the way it is, I told you not to eat all the treats!" I eventually switched to Cap'n Crunch peanut butter cereal, the whole box was delicious!
That was also back in the day when she could leave us in the car if we were bad and she would go into the store without us.
OMG I remember that movie. It was made in the 80s. Can't remember the name either, I have to do some Googling.
Frosted Flakes are "JUNK FOOD"? Gimme a break.........
Yesterday I looked at the label. Low fat, low salt, loaded with sugar! Some how I doubt the food police will be going after "health" foods that are just as guilty as Kellogg.
A short History of Cereal can be found here :
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/health/cereal.html
as you can see it was developed as a health food, adding coloring and sugar and silly cartoon characters was all part of a way to convince kids to eat this healthy alternative.
"CPI is a bunch of busybodies who want to control what other people do with their lives."
No argument there.
"Won't be long and we will all be marching in jack boots wearing little brown shirts."
And Soylent Green will be the only thing Big Brother will let us eat! I'm with you, SheLion, the nanny-staters make me sick!
LOL. I remember those days. One time my brother got his head caught in the steering wheel, another time he put the car in neutral and we started to move. I'll never forget the look on my mom's face as we rolled by!
At the end of the movie, the "king" freaked out and began running wildly-he came across some younger kids (10-12) playing, and gave them a bunch of shit about how he demanded respect because he was president. He then ran off (quite nuts by now). One of the young kids said to the others: "When we take over, we're gonna kill anybody over 18." Or something like that. Does that ring a bell? I'm only going on sheer memory from the stoned-out 60's here, as I never wanted to see it again as long as I lived. "Logan's Run", on the other hand, I thought was a good movie. At least it had an uplifting ending.
When I was a kid, cereal boxes had toys in them! They were always at the bottom so you doubled your cereal consumption to get to that toy as soon as possible.
You've got CSPI down pat.............and don't forget they have ties to PETA and MADD, through RWJF.
But don't fret children! after the lawyers get their cut of the pie and the state imposes their restrictions and taxes on these products you will be free to purchase them just like the smokers are able to still able to get their smokes.
Anyone of you anti-smokers starting to worry about your own little freedoms being assaulted yet? or should we wait just a little bit longer for you to see the light?
52 posted on 01/19/2006 8:30:05 AM EST by TheForceOfOne
I'll also add that the dumb liberals who are whining about the patriot act are the first ones to take away basic freedoms like deciding what to eat.
Our 3 year old grandson would not drink milk - even with chocolate syrup in it - after he was off the bottle/boob. Now he has taken to drinking milk - plain - after he started eating cereal for breakfast. He is going to grow up to be one of those boys who are milk-suckers - the ones you have to buy 2 gallons of milk a day to keep him happy.
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