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January 21, 2006
Snack Nazis Target SpongeBob SquarePants
An alliance of self-appointed food police has announced a lawsuit intended to disrupt the sinister alliance between Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon) and Kellogg that entails using cartoon characters to market kid food to kids.
"Nickelodeon and Kellogg engage in business practices that literally sicken our children," one of the plaintiffs has proclaimed.
While it has been found that advertising does in fact increase demand for the products being advertised, whether the products in question have any negative effect on kids is debatable:
In one of the few studies to examine snack food consumption and childhood obesity, Harvard researchers recently reported no relation between intake of snack foods and subsequent changes in bodyweight among the study’s 6,774 boys and an inverse relation (meaning snack food intake was associated with lower weight gain) among the 8,203 girls.
Hat tip: Wiggins
Posted by Van Helsing at January 21, 2006 08:49 AM
Comments
The obesity epidemic is as much the fault of the scaremongers telling everyone it's not safe to go outside, lest something risky happen, as it is of diet. Children get less exercise these days and spend most of their school-time sitting down taking tests when they could be engaging in more active pursuits.
Posted by: Archonix at January 21, 2006 10:08 AM
As a parent I couldn't care less about using cartoon characters to market crap to my kids. My wife and I actually inflict - ooooh - discipline on our children and work to teach them - aaaahhh - self control. They don't get everything they want, and get in trouble for whining. In the food dept, they only get a carefully limited amount of "junk food" a day, if any. It all starts and ends at home, and it's the consumer's choice to be, or not to be, a 'victim' of advertising.
Bemoaning marketing is one thing, but this? Yet another example of liberal elites demanding a Nanny Government to protect us from our lack of self control. We simply can't be trusted, since the elites can't trust themselves.
Posted by: The MaryHunter at January 21, 2006 11:24 AM