Disney drops junk food ads for kids (by 2015)
June 6, 2012
Disney is establishing new nutrition guidelines for ads in its kid-targeted channels Disney Chairman Robert Iger told First Lady Michelle Obama at the Newseum in Washington.
Under the guidelines, “all food and beverage products advertised, sponsored, or promoted on Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Radio Disney and Disney-owned online destinations oriented to families with younger children will be required by 2015 to meet Disney’s nutrition guidelines.”
The limits do not mean that fast food and snacks can’t be advertised, but those that do must meet Disney’s nutrition guidelines. For example, a 3 oz. serving of “shaped, prepared nuggets” must be fewer than 250 calories and a cereal must have under 10 grams of sugar.
Disney was billing it as “first major media company to introduce new standards for food advertising on programming targeting kids and families.” Major food marketers have instituted their own limits and food reformuations, but media companies have been enc ouraged to follow suit with their own standards.