Daniel Lubetzky

A report last week from the Federal Trade Commission found that the makers of soda, fast food, cereals and other products spent $1.6 billion in 2006 on marketing aimed at children and teenagers.

…While almost $500 million a year is spent on soda advertising, only $11 million is spent on ads for fruit and vegetables.

SpongeBob’s Large Pants

http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1513336/spongebobs_large_pants/

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 August 2008, 15:00 CDT

Last year, the cartoon ogre Shrek was featured in public service ads urging children to exercise. The hope was that the familiar green messenger would get kids off the couch and outside to play. The ad campaign was intended to target the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Unfortunately, the film "Shrek the Third," which opened around the same time, had promotional tie-ins with all sorts of sugary products, including Snickers, M&M’s, Frosted Flakes, Pop-Tarts, Keebler cookies and soda.

It seems Shrek was speaking to kids out of both sides of his mouth.

A report last week from the Federal Trade Commission found that the makers of soda, fast food, cereals and other products spent $1.6 billion in 2006 on marketing aimed at children and teenagers.

That total is lower than had been estimated but still obscene, and the FTC report, which examined confidential industry data, revealed how relentlessly kids are being courted.

Beyond all those TV commercials, dozens of films, TV shows and video games are used in food promotions. In 2006, Captain Jack Sparrow and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" were featured on children’s fast-food meals, popcorn, frozen waffles, cereal and candy. One candy maker came out with "White Chocolate Pirate Pearls,""Shipwreck Treasure Mix" and "Jack’s Gems."

Now the Internet is offering even more opportunities for marketing to minors. Sites such as Wrigley’s Candystand.com, Frootloops.com and Nabiscoworld.com offer kids a place where they can play games, win prizes and send e-cards to friends, all the while being bombarded with ads for candy, cereal and cookies. It’s total saturation. The industry term is "advergames," which combine advertising with online play.

All of this is troubling for several reasons. Kids can’t be expected to make the best decisions about what to eat. SpongeBob’s endorsement is good enough for them.

But their health is at stake. Diets high in fats, sugar, salt and empty calories lead to childhood obesity, which is a growing epidemic in the United States, including New Jersey. This state has the nation’s second-highest obesity rate in young, low-income kids, with African-American and Latino youths the most likely to be overweight.

The damage can be long-term. Childhood obesity is linked to major increases in Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases.

Industry efforts have begun to limit or end advertising to young children, to stress "better-for-you" eating and exercise, even to change some products to conform to higher nutrition standards. So far, the effort has been voluntary, and the standards vary. There isn’t even a single definition of what constitutes healthy food for children.

Nutrition advocates, who are calling for uniform standards, note the huge imbalance in marketing budgets for children’s food. While almost $500 million a year is spent on soda advertising, only $11 million is spent on ads for fruit and vegetables.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who requested the FTC study, called on industry leaders to "step up to the plate and use their innovation and creativity to market healthy foods to our kids. That $1.6 billion could be used to attract our kids to healthy snacks, tasty cereals, fruits and vegetables."

In other words, why not put Shrek’s picture on a peach?

(c) 2008 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.