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Junk's cartoon heroes 'are villains'

Cartoon characters are the baddies because they are being used by marketers to promote junk foods which are harmful to young children.

Three quarters of parents want food firms to halt “irresponsible marketing” by emblazoning their packets of unhealthy foods with kids’ favourite characters.

The finding from Which? is being used by the consumer group as evidence brands should resist using animations when advertising their products to younger audiences.

The group warned:"Companies that hold the licences for popular cartoon characters could be harming their brands by endorsing unhealthy foods."

A regular supermarket reveals cartoon heroes like Spider-Man, Shrek and The Simpsons promoting ‘less healthy foods,’ according to The Food Standards Agency’s definition.

In contrast,there are too few companies with products on-shelf that promote healthy foods by the similar cadre of cartoon characters, Which? added.

The group wants the food industry to follow the example of Disney and Warner Bros. Both these giants have now banned their animated faces appearing on products which could potentially harm a child’s health.

But their is another reason the owners of cartoon characters may wish to reconsider their licence-holders.

“With so many parents fed up with the amount of marketing of unhealthy foods aimed at their children, it also makes commercial sense for cartoon brands to distance themselves from unhealthy products,” said Sue Davies, Which? policy advisor.

In a message that will anger advertisers, Davies called for fresh regulations to prohibit 'irresponsible marketing' (campaigns that use cartoon heroes) of unhealthy foods on television, online and on products or their packaging.

Aug 22, 2007
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