Companies pull some, but no all, food ads for children
Food companies yanking some ads aimed at children
Food companies yanking some ads aimed at children
Trix are no longer for kids -- at least not on children's television shows. But Cocoa Puffs are another matter.
By Brooks Barnes, New York Times
Last update: July 17, 2007 – 10:23 PM
Trix are no longer for kids -- at least not on children's television shows. But Cocoa Puffs are another matter.
Trying to convince critics they don't need government regulation, 11 food companies, including McDonald's, Campbell Soup and PepsiCo, have agreed to stop advertising products that do not meet certain nutritional standards for children younger than 12.
Some of the companies, such as Coca-Cola, have already pulled all such commercials or are in the process of doing so. Others, such as General Mills, said they would pull them over the next year or so.
Still, the agreements will likely amount to a ripple rather than a sea change in terms of what foods children see pitched on their favorite television shows and websites. For example, while General Mills will no longer be advertising Trix to the 12-and-under crowd, it will continue to peddle Cocoa Puffs, which have one less gram of sugar per serving. And it will be able to continue advertising Trix on TV shows and other venues that are considered to cater to "families" rather than just children.
That qualifier amounts to a major loophole, given the media-watching habits of children. An episode of Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants," for instance, is viewed by an average audience of 876,000 children ages 6 to 11, according to Nielsen Media Research, and falls in the category of shows that are off-limits to ads for junk food. But Fox's "American Idol," which qualifies as a family show, attracts 2.1 million children in the age group.