ABC
Reports: Breakfast is Controversial
New ads for kids
cereals are the latest target in the anti-free market obesity war.
by
Todd Drenth
June 23, 2005
General Mills new marketing campaign received a reality check on
ABCs World News Tonight on June 22, 2005. ABC closed its newscast
with a story on controversial ads that encourage kids to eat
breakfast.
Reporter Lisa Stark began the story saying that the ads
are simply ads promoting breakfast, but also commented that the
ads are aimed at children and the ad campaign comes in the midst
of a huge debate over childhood obesity and criticism of companies
that market sweetened cereals to children.
Throughout the newscast, anchor Charles Gibson promoted
the story with such comments as sugary cereal as brain food? and
with obesity on the rise, is it all right to market sugary cereals
to kids?
General Mills new Choose Breakfast campaign consists
of 10-second commercials promoting balanced breakfasts as part of a
healthy lifestyle. In the two commercials ABC aired as part of the
story, a balanced breakfast consists of a bowl of non-branded
cereal, a piece of fruit, and a glass of milk or juice.
No brand names or cartoon characters appear in the ads,
which will run along with 20-second spots for kid-oriented cereals,
according to a General Mills press release. General Mills cereals
include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix, and
Cocoa Puffs.
Stark interviewed General Mills Chief Marketing Officer
Mark Addicks, who said the company truly believes in the power of
cereal. It's a great breakfast. It's a great nutritious way to start
the day.
Stark claimed that some nutrition experts say General
Mills is wrong when it implies that eating any cereal for breakfast,
even one high in sugar and salt, is good for you.
To support that comment, she turned to an ABC News
regular, Dr. David Katz of Yale Medical School, who called
childrens breakfast cereals little better than candy you pour milk
over that happened to have a multivitamin thrown in for good
measure. As the Business & Media Institute
has reported [1], Katz isnt exactly an independent expert because
he is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
which overstated obesity deaths and now has backed off its own study
showing the new numbers.
Although the story showed two mothers who made it clear
they made the shopping decisions, Stark closed the story commenting
that General Mills isn't marketing to moms while showing video of
a small child in the cereal aisle at a grocery store. The little
girl grabbed for a box of Lucky Charms, saying I want these. As
the shot faded out on her hugging a box of Cocoa Puffs, Stark said,
And the company knows its audience.
ABC did not report on how many children go out and buy
sugary cereals on their own.