Statement of Campaign for a Commercial-Free
Childhood’s
Co-Founder Dr. Susan Linn in Support of Lawsuits
Against Viacom and Kellogg
There is no moral, ethical, or social justification
for marketing junk food to children. Childhood obesity
is a major public health problem. Overweight children
are at risk for a number of serious medical problems
including Type 2 diabetes; yet children continue to be
inundated with ads for foods high in fat, sugar, salt,
and calories.
We know that children’s food choices and purchase
requests are significantly influenced by marketing. We
know that children are more vulnerable to marketing
than adults, and that young children are particularly
vulnerable. We know that it is inherently unfair for
children under the age of eight to be targets for
advertising, because they do not have the cognitive
wherewithal to understand its persuasive intent. Given
what we know, it is unconscionable that Viacom and
Kellogg continue to market directly and aggressively
to our youngest and most impressionable children.
It’s not just that Viacom and Kellogg market to
children. They are leaders in the field. Their brands
infiltrate nearly every aspect of children’s lives.
Television commercials and Internet advertising
combine with brand licensing, in-school marketing,
promotions, contests, and advergames to sabotage
parents’ best efforts to raise healthy children,
turning kids into miniature lobbyists for products
such as SpongeBob Squarepants Wild Bubble-Berry Pop
Tarts and Dora the Explorer Fruit Snacks.
Children have the right to grow up, and parents have
the right to raise them, without being undermined by
commercial interests. For over thirty years, public
health advocates have urged companies to stop
marketing junk food to children. Even as rates of
childhood obesity have soared, neither Viacom nor
Kellogg have listened. And now the stakes are too
high. We can no longer stand by as our children’s
health is sacrificed for corporate profits.
Click here for more
information on the CSPI, CCFC lawsuit.
Take Action: Tell Viacom and Kellogg to Stop Marketing Junk Food
to Young Children
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Lawsuit
