That's for sure. And that's pretty good. LOL
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)
As far as I'm concerned, Kellogg can market their sugary, junk cereal all they want. As a parent, I'm just not going to buy it and feed it to my kids. Pretty simple.
Businesses are sued, IMO, because unscrupulous and greedy lawyers; amoral and unethical freeloaders; and nosy, intrusive, and anal-retentive do-gooders want to get rich quick and/or have a neurotic/compulsive need to enforce their views on others - and because the government refuses to do anything about the nation's preposterous tort system.
And just how little kids are getting their parents credit cards to order cigarettes over the Internet. Just where IS the responsibility that the parents should have?
It sure didn't take a village to raise MY child!
The grocery stores could help change dietary habits of kids by placing healthy cereals on the bottom shelves and the sugar bombs on the upper shelves.
Everything for the damn kids. Soon there won't be anything left for adults with all the government intervention coming at us!
I saw a movie quite some time ago. It was post World War III and kids were running the world. An 18 year-old boy was "The King" or "The President."
When a person turned 30, they killed him/her. I will never forget that movie although I can't remember the name.
One poor guy was going to turn 30, and he didn't want to die. So he hid out hoping to delay his death. It was scarey, believe me.
And that's called "Taking responsibility!" Good for you!
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| Posted by Pyro7480 On News/Activism ^ 01/18/2006 5:08:04 PM EST · 60 replies · 685+ views Yahoo! News (Reuters) ^ | 1/18/2006 | n/a Suit seeks to stop Kellogg from targeting kidsCHICAGO (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 on Wednesday announced legal action to try to stop the Kellogg Co., maker of cereals like Frosted Flakes, and Nickelodeon cable network Viacom Inc., from marketing junk food to children. A planned lawsuit will ask a Massachusetts court to stop the companies from marketing junk foods in venues where 15 percent or more of the audience is... |
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It takes a village idiot to raise a child.
Those parents who require their children to eat healty will. The others wont...but its none of these red, pinko, socialst, consumer-watch-dog butt wipes business or Hillary Clintons business how individual families deal with their nutrition.
This is that same Commie consumer-watch-dog crap that Ralphie boy Nader (Nadir = the bottom) pulls all the time.
You gotta hate these busy bodies.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1560528/posts
Have you noticed how many slime ball groups there are trying to tell the rest of us how to live our lives? From that atheist Newdow right down to the highly paid professional anti-smokers.
Always some group out there that wants to tell us how to live our lives.
Massachusetts AGAIN!
Just because something is advertised on tv doesn't mean you have to BUY it. Stupid lawsuit. If I were the judge I'd punish the ones bringing a frivolous lawsuit into court.
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| Posted by Pyro7480 On News/Activism ^ 01/18/2006 5:08:04 PM EST · 60 replies · 685+ views |
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Oh well. It happens.
When will they go after the Food Channel and Emril for making food taste good?
THe happiest kids I have seen have a conservative upbringing. These are the ones who thank their mom and dad someday, instead of cuss at them.
to everyone who posts! Search works a little better than 1/2 the time for me
Quaker Puffed Wheat (endorsed by Sergeant Preston of the Mounties!).
Logan's Run
Good movie
Spaghetti is the breakfast of champions over here this morning, but that's irrelevant. I wish the corporate world would start standing up to these people. Tell them to stick it and twist it.
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