Kellogg Likely to Stop Advertising Popular Cereal to

Kids

Rose Dugan and Angela West

Pressure

• The threat of a lawsuit was being prepared by two advocacy groups, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

• Didn’t agree with the way Kellogg was advertising unhealthy foods to young kids

• Groups particularly objected to the licensed characters selling unhealthy food.

Kellogg’s Global Nutrient Criteria

• Sets thresholds for calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar content

• Over ½ of Kellogg’s products that are marketed towards kids don’t make the cut

• Some examples:– Rice Krispies (sodium)– Froot loops (sugar)– Pop Tarts (sugar)

Implementation• Currently, Kellogg’s has a policy of not advertising to

children under 6 years of age

• The company has pledged to quit advertising foods that don’t meet the new criteria to children under age 12 by the end of 2008

• Going to try to reformulate their products to fit the criteria.

• Have agreed to cease using licensed characters to market food products that don’t meet the requirements.

- Ex: Shrek

Other Guidelines

• Kellogg’s website– Will make enhancements to its website with a new

emphasis on health– It will limit depictions of food that don’t meet its

nutrient criteria– Add healthy lifestyle and nutritional messaging

• Packaging– Easy to read nutrition labels of the front of its

package– Highlight important information from label on the

side of the box

Other Companies

• Although the threat of a law suit against Kellogg is no longer existing, other companies have been targeted:– McDonald’s– Coca-Cola– General Mills– Kraft Foods– PepsiCo

• Called on these companies to adopt similar policies to limit their marketing to kids

Getting Healthier• Some companies that have already implemented

policies- Walt Disney

• From now will only allow its characters to be licensed to food products that meet nutritional guidelines

- Kraft• Refrain from advertising to children under 12 for products that

don’t meet corporate nutritional standards

- A group of the largest beverage companies have promised to devote half of their advertising directed towards children age 12 and under to promote healthy foods and lifestyles.

What this means for Kellogg

• Unfortunately we won’t be seeing Toucan Sam any time soon

• But…Frosted Flakes just barely made the cut so Tony the Tiger will still be around

Sources“Kellogg Likely To Stop Advertising Popular Cereals to Kids.” The

Global Pulse. 29 June, 2007. <http://www.theglobalmarketer.com/marketingpulse/marketingpulse.jsp?id=89&page=1>.