The Grinch Who Wants to Change the Channel on the Best Holiday Food Ads
It’s more than likely that “Grinch” isn’t the only colorful descriptor being applied to federal bureaucrats this holiday season. It may be the most fitting, however, considering “voluntary” guidelines offered this year by the Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children (IWG). If approved, these guidelines would severely restrict which foods can be advertised to children ages 2 through 11, all but guaranteeing that tofu ads are about as merry as the daytime airwaves will get a few years from now.
The Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy, a non-partisan think tank that has closely tracked this debate, compiled the following list of the 10 best holiday commercials we’ve grown to love that would get considerably less airtime if these guidelines are implemented. The Bernard Center also provides tongue-in-cheek commentary of the IWG’s possible reaction in viewing each commercial.
Disclaimer: The Bernard Center is not endorsing any of the foods on this list as “healthy” for children. Rather, we advocate a smarter government approach to the childhood obesity debate that encourages public-private partnerships, such as First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, to promote nutrition and exercise education and address the growing problem of food deserts (a lack of access to healthy foods in the poorest regions of the country). The rationale behind the IWG guidelines – that by denying children and adults alike of iconic holiday commercials, childhood obesity rates will be curbed – is a classic case of senseless government overreach.
Suggested replacement jingle: “Who’s that kid with the … flax seed cookies?”
Don’t even think about serving Santa anything but skim!
“Your childhood is calling” … and it wants metabolism back!
Sure, if you like feeling bloated from sugary carbonation.
Scrooge could be just as happy without the honey and a portion-controlled package of nuts, right?
Pillsbury products make dough boys and girls.
Santa probably fainted after he crashed from his sugar high.
Outrage! A serving size of Hershey kisses if 9 pieces, but there are 11 pieces in this handbell choir!
“Life tastes good” … but not if you’re too heavy to float like the polar bears.
“Never underestimate the power of soup” … or its sodium content.
The Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy is a research and educational institution—a think tank— whose mission is to fundamentally change the terms of the nation’s most critical domestic and foreign policy debates and challenge the American public, policymakers, and the media to discuss those issues in order to promote, advance, and support individual rights, free markets, comprehensive education reform and parental choice, personal responsibility, self-reliance, and smart government as the keys to achieving the American dream; Improve the socioeconomic status of women, the poor, and ethnic and religious minorities; and expand the effective participation of women, the poor, and ethnic and religious minorities in the political and public policy arenas.