A Petition to Stop Nickelodeon from Advertising Junk Food to Children

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“Nickelodeon is the largest entertainment company for kids. It markets and advertises food to children through television, its websites, games, toy giveaways with fast-food meals, and the use of its characters to promote foods,” according to The Food Marketing Workgroup.  Between 2005 and 2009 approximately 79% of the ads aired on Nickelodeon featured foods of a poor nutritional value.

Nickelodeon, a popular TV channel that airs programming for children, continues to allow food producers to advertise junk food to children. Because the advertisements that children see on TV can have such a strong influence, Viacom and Nickelodeon have been asked to increase their nutrition standards for foods advertised to children.

The Food Marketing Workgroup, which is a network of more than 125 organizations and academic experts who are concerned about the amount of marketing of junk foods and unhealthful beverages that target children/adolescents, urge Nickelodeon to stop it’s marketing to children through a petition and letter campaign. Their letter signed by more than 100 health professionals, scientists, and organization can be found online as well.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has also published a report, Better-for-Who? Revisiting company promises on food marketing to children, which details the types of foods and advertisements that Nickelodeon, and other like companies, promote to children.

Companies like Nickelodeon currently do not have a set of comprehensive guidelines to direct the type of foods they can market to children. Nickelodeon can also be found receiving a “C-” on CSPI’s 2010 Marketing Report Card which assigns a letter grade to many large companies based on how they advertise to children and adolescents.