The CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest), released earlier this month their Report Card on Food-Marketing Policies, which claims it is an analysis of Food and Entertainment Company Policies regarding Food and Beverage Marketing to Children.
According to the report, NOT A SINGLE COMPANY scored an A. There were a handful of companies that scored B’s, among them: Mars, QUBO, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Kraft, Cadbury Adams, Hershey, Dunkin’ Brands and General Mills.
A few companies managed to squeeze in C: Post Foods, PepsiCo, PBS, Coca-Cola, Disney, Burger King, Campbell Soup, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, Heinz and Viacom (Nickelodeon). The ones that did not do as good and scored a D are: Sunny Delight, Krispy Kreme, Cartoon Network, Ruby Tuesday, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Chuck E. Cheese’s.
I was able to mention all the passing companies in a 3 short paragraphs. I will need considerable more room for the ones that scored an F: Bob Evans, CBS, Dairy Queen, Discovery, Mattel, Univision, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Sierra Studios, Channel One, AMC, American Girl Magazine, Arby’s, Blizzard Video Games, Blue Sky Studios, Boys’ Life Magazine, Chilli’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Church’s Chicken, Carmike Cinemas, Cheesecake Factory, Chick-fil-A, Cinemark, Chipotle, Carl’s Jr, Hardee’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Denny’s Applebee’s, IHOP, Domino’s Pizza, Peanuts Comic, EA Video Games, GoldenCorral, Girls Life Magazine, Hansen Beverage, Hasbro, Barney, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Hollywood Theatres, HP Hood, Jack in the Box, Kerasotes Showplace, Kids Discover Magazine, Klutz, Tips and Tricks Magazine, Little Caesars, LucasFilm, Major League Soccer, Marcus Movie Theatres, Marvel Comics, Little Debbie snack cakes, Bratz, Xbox, Major League Baseball, National Amusements theaters, NASCAR, National Geographic Kids, NHL, Wild Animal Baby Magazine, Ranger Rick, NBA, NFL, Nintendo, Outback Steakhouse, Panda Express, Panera Bread, Papa John’s, Fun Brain, Airheads, Perkins & Marie Callender’s, Pilgrim’s Pride, Aunt Jamima, Duncan Hines, Lender’s, Pokemon Company, Popeye’s Chicken, Quizno’s, Rave Motion, Red Robin, Regal Entertainment, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Hometown Buffet, Old Country Buffet, Sara Lee, Scholastic, Schwan’s, Sizzler, Sonic, Sony’s Playstation, Sunkist, TGI Friday’s, Texas Roadhouse, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time for Kids, Bazooka, Ring Pop, Baby Bottle Pop, Waffle House, Wendy’s, Whataburger, WWE, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Zoobooks.
So, how does the CSPI issue such letter grades? According to them, Mars was the highest graded one and their policy did not allow for its products to be marketed to children under 12 years old and covered most of the key media approaches (with the exception of on-package marketing and most marketing in high schools). They also claim that without significant progress in the next 24 months, the US will need to rely on government regulation, rather than self-regulation, as to address food marketing to children. This may not be far-fetched. Obama himself said: “The food industry overall could do substantially more to limit children’s exposure to foods with minimal nutritional value…guidelines for advertising and marketing of foods and beverages must be finalized, and the industry should be encouraged to implement these guidelines on a voluntary basis. If voluntary adoption is not effective…these guidelines should be made mandatory.”.
According to the CSPI though, any company that offers a kids’ menu is aggressively seeking their business. What they fail to see is that a kids menu is not a means to advertise to kids, it is simply an offering that HAS to be implemented in order to attract parents to the food venue. Parents are more likely to attend a location that offers a meal for their kids – this is really not something I would consider “advertising” to kids. Not every company on the list targets kids. Take the kids meal TOY industry…we target restaurants – yes, we manufacture toys that in turn are aimed to attract kids. Should we have a policy on how to target kids? If we did, how in the world would we stay in business? I mean, we do not offer food, but we certainly encourage kids to consume food.
Whatever happened to the popcorn….?
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