Generals Mills draws fire from consumer groups

Breakfast-cereal giant General Mills has a solution to rising rates of childhood obesity and diabetes. In June the company announced a new children's television advertising campaign called Choose Breakfast, devised to "communicate the benefits of breakfast to children." While General Mills attempts to cloak the campaign with public-service respectability by dubbing it "non-branded," the lo-second spots will be paired with 20-second spots for the company's kid-oriented cereals, which include Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, and Trix.

Unfortunately, the Children's Advertising Review Unit, or CARU, a self-regulatory watchdog group for advertising aimed at children, is not against the campaign. In fact, CARU has commended it.

CARU's job is to identify and request the removal of ads that appeal to a kid's sense of fantasy, such as a bowlful of cereal transforming a child into a super-strong, super-smart superhero. All three of the General Mills spots depict just that scenario. Not coincidentally, all three spots depict breakfast as including a nice big bowl of cereal--non-branded, of course.

With these spots coming on the heels of commercials for the likes of Cocoa Puffs, it doesn't take a great leap of logic to assume that kids will associate these scenarios with eating cereal--and not just any cereal, but General Mills brands. Yet instead of jumping into action to banish the ads, CARU has jumped into bed with General Mills by anointing its campaign.

CARU director Elizabeth Lascoutx stated in the company's press release: "Ensuring that positive, non-branded health messages like 'Choose Breakfast' are being delivered to children is not only responsible, but commendable."

--MICHELE SIMON, THE CENTER FOR IMPROVED FOOD CHOICES and ELLEN FRIED, THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

COPYRIGHT 2005 Mothering Magazine
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group