New Report: Ban Cartoon Characters From Advertising Junk Food
Robert Paul Reyes
December 07, 2005
A report from the Institute of Medicine calls for changes in the way foods and beverages are marketed to children. It recommends that cartoon characters like SpongeBob SquarePants be used to promote only nutritious foods.
When I was a child Bugs Bunny was my hero, he not only defied authority but the laws of physics as well. When my parents asked me to clean up my room, I would respond "sure Doc", and continue to wreak havoc around the house.
If Bugs Bunny had pitched a breakfast cereal called "Sugary Cow Patties", I would have pestered my mom to buy it for me. I used to eat spinach only because Popeye loved the slop, unfortunately eating spinach didn't stop the school yard bullies from pummeling me.
It's a good idea for cartoon characters not to hawk junk food, little kids look upon them with awe and affection and will do anything they say. A SpongeBob Squarepants has as much authority to a child as a physician has to an adult.
The report offered no clear definition of what constitutes "nutritious" foods. I thrive on a diet of Doritos, Cheetos, Oreos, hamburgers and onion rings, and I haven't been sick a day in the past five or six years. I may die of a heart attack before I'm sixty, but right now I'm the picture of health.
Another problem is that prohibiting SpongeBob from advertising junk food would violate his freedom of speech, he has every right to hawk Krabby Patties or anything else.
The Institute of Medicine should also recommend that gorgeous ladies not be used to advertise beer. When guys ogle foxy chicks in bikinis in a beer ad, we have a Pavolian response, we immediately drive to the grocery store to stock up on beer -- it's just not fair.
In the end it really all comes down to parenting, we should monitor what our children watch on TV, as well as what they eat.
When I was a child Bugs Bunny was my hero, he not only defied authority but the laws of physics as well. When my parents asked me to clean up my room, I would respond "sure Doc", and continue to wreak havoc around the house.
If Bugs Bunny had pitched a breakfast cereal called "Sugary Cow Patties", I would have pestered my mom to buy it for me. I used to eat spinach only because Popeye loved the slop, unfortunately eating spinach didn't stop the school yard bullies from pummeling me.
It's a good idea for cartoon characters not to hawk junk food, little kids look upon them with awe and affection and will do anything they say. A SpongeBob Squarepants has as much authority to a child as a physician has to an adult.
The report offered no clear definition of what constitutes "nutritious" foods. I thrive on a diet of Doritos, Cheetos, Oreos, hamburgers and onion rings, and I haven't been sick a day in the past five or six years. I may die of a heart attack before I'm sixty, but right now I'm the picture of health.
Another problem is that prohibiting SpongeBob from advertising junk food would violate his freedom of speech, he has every right to hawk Krabby Patties or anything else.
The Institute of Medicine should also recommend that gorgeous ladies not be used to advertise beer. When guys ogle foxy chicks in bikinis in a beer ad, we have a Pavolian response, we immediately drive to the grocery store to stock up on beer -- it's just not fair.
In the end it really all comes down to parenting, we should monitor what our children watch on TV, as well as what they eat.
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