"nickelodeon" news and stories

While its programming may be kid-friendly, a new report shows that a majority of the food advertisements on Nickelodeon are for unhealthy foods.

A study from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) finds that "nearly 80 percent of food ads on the popular children's network Nickelodeon are for foods of poor nutritional quality," CBS News reports.

That's actually an improvement from 2005, when CSPI found 90 percent of the ads were for junk food. Between 2005 and 2009 the industry began a self-regulatory program through the Better Business Bureau's Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), but CSPI says that self-regulation isn't working.

I'm not sure if this will surprise a lot of people, but the Center For Science in the Public Interest says that 80% of the ads on Nickelodeon are for junk food.

The organization says that that 80% of ads are for restaurants, foods, and beverages that are advertised not only on the network but also tied into its characters and products. Of course, Nickelodeon doesn't agree with the study, and a spokesman says that 10% of the network's advertising tries to push healthy foods and that they are working with companies to market carrots, nectarines and other fruits and vegetables. I'm not even sure what that means - will be see Nickelodeon Bananas in the produce section next year?

You can read the entire article in the July issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

[via That's Fit]

Earlier this summer, Nicole posted about Disney's partnership with UK's Tesco supermarkets to sell their Disney-branded fruit.

Well, it's not just in the UK, and it's not just Disney, either. While Disney might be the biggest player in the fruit-branding game with a partnership with 15 large growers across the country via Indianapolis-based produce distributor Imagination Farms LLC, other cartoon characters are making their way into the garden. Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants will leave his pineapple under the sea and appear on spinach. Dora the Explorer will be hawking oranges. Warner Bros. has partnered with Ready Pac produce for Tweety Bird grapes and Tasmanian Devil apples.

At least the entertainment companies are being more responsible with their gross marketing by trying to sell fruits and vegetables to kids rather than French fries.