Some Democratic Senators are pressuring Viacom to follow
Disney's lead and adopt nutrition standards similar to thoseadopted by Disney last June.
In a letter to Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman dated June 10, the same day
cable operators and networks were cutting the ribbon on the Cable Show in the
nation's capital, Sen. Jay
Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), joined by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Harkin
(D-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), asked Nickelodeon and parent Viacom to ban
ads on the kids cable net that market "unhealthy" food to kids. All have a
history of pushing the industry to adopt food marketing standards to combat
obesity.
The letter points
out that Disney took the "important step of saying it would "no longer accept
advertisements for unhealthy foods on television, radio, and websites directed
at children," and suggested the cable net might want to follow in its
footsteps.
The senators'
tone was hardly accusatory.
"We applaud the
initiatives that Nickelodeon has taken to promote healthy lifestyles for
children, including through health and wellness messaging, but remain concerned
that Nickelodeon continues to run advertisements for food and beverage products
of poor nutritional quality," they wrote.
"Given
Nickelodeon's commitment to fighting childhood obesity and responsibility to
the youth that comprise your audience," they said, "we ask that the company
promptly take similar action to implement strong nutrition standards for all of
its marketing to children. We look forward to your response. "
"As an entertainment company, Nickelodeon's primary responsibility is to make the highest quality content in the world for kids, and we leave the science of nutrition to the experts," Viacom said in a statement. "No entertainment brand has worked as comprehensively and with more organizations dedicated to fighting childhood obesity over the past decade than Nickelodeon. Our commitment has included dedicating 10 percent of our airtime to health and wellness messaging; our partnerships with Let's Move, The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and professional sports leagues among many others; our grants programs for school PE and community recreation efforts in local communities; our annual Worldwide Day of Play initiative; as well as integrated licensing and marketing partnerships with companies like Birdseye that encourage kids to eat vegetables. We have proven our commitment over and over. Less than 20 percent of our advertising comes from the food category, and the overwhelming majority of those advertisers have already signed on to the CFBAI pledge. We will continue to work with them and other marketers who strive to make meaningful progress on this issue."
Disney signaled that "all food and beverage products
advertised, sponsored or promoted on Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior,
Radio Disney and Disney-owned online destinations oriented to families with
younger children will be required by 2015 to meet Disney's nutrition
guidelines."
The limits do not mean that fast food and snacks
can't be advertised, but those that do must meet Disney's nutrition guidelines.
For example, a 3 oz. serving of "shaped, prepared nuggets" must be
fewer than 250 calories and a cereal must have fewer than 10 grams of sugar.
