On Monday, an open letter was sent to Disney and addressed to Robert Iger, Walt Disney Co. CEO asking them to stop placing or allowing Disney characters on holiday treats from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (“CSPI”). This coming two days prior to one of the biggest candy holidays of the year, Halloween, the letter began by commending Disney on their efforts to help with responsible marketing to children by changing some former policies.
“Disney took a big step forward this year by deciding that it will no longer accept advertisements for many unhealthy foods on children’s television, radio, and online programming, and will update its nutrition standards for licensed characters and sponsorships on the Disney Channel. Your work has made Disney an industry leader in responsible food marketing to children and we look forward to the company’s continued progress in this area…” The Letter from the Center of Science in the Public Interest stated.
What the CSPI is asking is for Disney to take an even bigger step in their campaign for responsible marketing to children. Knowing that kids are always going to want Disney themed birthday cakes, but they are asking for the promotion from everyday marketing campaigns to stop. Listed as “offenders” to this just from the Halloween marketing are:
- Cinderella – Princess Halloween Shape Sugar Cookies manufactured by Pillsbury;
- Halloween – Mickey Mouse Mallow Pops manufactured by Flix Candy; and
- Disney Candy Mix manufactured by Frankford Candy featuring characters from Toy Story, Cinderella, Cars, and Peter Pan.
In conclusion, the letter asks Disney to limit their licensing of characters to companies that are in contrast to what the CSPI considers “responsible marketing to children.”
Disney has responded to the LA Times inquiry with this response:
“Disney inspires kids and families to lead healthier lifestyles through comprehensive nutrition guidelines and food advertising standards that were a first for a major media company. For those special occasions where families enjoy celebrating with our characters, we reserve a mere 15% of our overall licensed food business for specialized items like birthday cakes, holiday and Halloween treats.”
What do you think Disney should do? Who is responsible for your children’s eating habits and does Disney have some responsibility in that? Let me know in the comments below!
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I agree
I think people need to butt out of what I do or don’t allow my child to eat!
As a parent I am responsible for what my child eats and for making sure she develops healthy food habits. There needs to be a balance to everything; I am okay with Disney having branded candy which I can teach my child is okay on occasion.
People responding so strongly to this:TV commercials during children’s programming are highly controlled. They control how many ads can be shown during a show, what type of ad & ban ads for items related to the show from being shown DURING the show.Marketing to children is very powerful. We’re seeing that with how well the Nickelodeon branded canned vegetables are doing. Do you also support zero regulation during kids programming, as it is fully up to the parent to control what the child eats/plays with? If you’re uncomfortable with this open letter, simply trying to educate Disney that their power has responsibility & not threatening in any way, are you also comfortable with kids programming devolving to 5 minutes of show & 25 minutes of expensive toy ads?Just playing devil’s advocate, don’t assume anything about me or my intentions based on this comment.
Give me a break! Disney needs to tell them to take a hike!
I applaud Disney for providing healthier options in the parks and even in the grocery stores. We have bought Mickey cheese, sliced apples, dried fruits and more in our local stores. However, not having Disney character themed candy for our trips to WDW would break my heart! We all (parents included) look forward to eating those! What will they do next- remove all the candy and treats from Goofy’s Candy Co at Downtown Disney and Main Street Confectionary? 🙁 It’s definitely up to the parents to control what their children eat- not Disney, not the schools, not the government!
This is ridiculous. When exactly do parents take responsibility for their children? My child ants things that are bad for him all the time; as a parent, it is MY job to set limits on what my child eats, not Disney. My child would gladly eat Captain Crunch and root beer for breakfast every day, as a parent, I make sure he does not. If you are not able to parent your child, please stop blaming Disney, 7-11 and McDonalds.Step up, tell your kids “no” once in a while and stop complaining. No one ever said being a parent was going to be easy.