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Tony the Tiger may soon go the way of Froggy the Gremlin (“twang yer magic twanger, Froggy”) as Kellogg’s said today it will increase the nutritional value of the cereals and snacks for children or else stop marketing those products to kids under 12 altogether. Have the food police gone too far? What’s next?
Kellogg websites, like applejacks.com, and FruitLoops.com, geared toward children under the age of 12, including those dedicated to cereal brands and iconic figures such as Tony the Tiger, will shut down after 15 minutes of viewing.
Kellogg will also limit its use of viral marketing, website games and mobile efforts aimed at that age group, for any product not meeting its new nutritional standards, according to ClickZ.
The move was announced as part of its Kellogg Company Marketing Commitment, made as a settlement with children’s health and nutrition advocates. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in letters to five of Kellogg’s competitors, told those companies to implement similar limits, and announced new plans for a House hearing on the issue.
Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council of Science and Health, ACSH.org, says Kellogg’s is selling out and that calories can be good for kids and sugar is not a threat to dental health. “Kellogg’s,” she writes in a NY Post OpEd piece, “is now publicly holding hands with the Ralph Nader-inspired, industry-loathing Center for Science in the Public Interest (aka the food police) in condemning pre-sweetened cereals.”
I sure hope nobody is going to come around and look in our cupboards!