11 companies limiting junk food ads to children
I wrote about this a few weeks ago and yesterday the New York Times reports that 11 food companies including McDonald’s, Campbell’s Soup and PepsiCo have agreed to stop advertising products that don’t meet nutritional standards to children under 12.
While I sort of applaud the idea behind this announcement, it really means nothing. For example, General Mills can’t show a commercial for Trix during Sponge Bob because of the sugar content but they can show a commercial for Cocoa Puffs (are you cuckoo for cocoa puffs?) because it has one gram less of sugar per serving. Don’t worry about Trix though- General Mills is free to advertise the cereal on American Idol because it’s considered a family show, not a show that caters specifically to the under 12 set.
My biggest problem with this non-announcement is that there’s no uniform set of standards for nutritional guidelines and because the advertising “ban” is voluntary no one’s holding the company liable. Rather than withdraw advertising, many companies plan on reformulating the products so they meet the arbitrary guidelines. Think “whole grain” Chips Ahoy. They may have whole grains, but they’re still not good for you.
I don’t know. I guess it’s a start. It’s just that when I was kid, sugar cereals didn’t try to be what they weren’t- they were junk food. I ate Sugar Smacks and Sugar Pops. They just changed the names to make them sound healthier.
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