In today's Star Ledger:
Quote:
Mars Inc., the maker of M&Ms and other top-selling candy and snack brands, has decided to stop marketing its core products to children under 12 by the end of this year.
That not only goes for M&Ms, but also for kiddie favorites like Snickers, Milky Way candy bars, Twix, Skittles and Starburst.
"It's a global commitment," said company spokeswoman Marlene Machut. The policy, she said, came about after the European Union authority DG Sanco asked the company about its ads targeting children. DG Sanco, similar to this country's FDA, oversees health and consumer protection in countries belonging to the EU.
Last week, Mars sent a letter to DG Sanco saying it would halt advertising to the under-12 set by the end of this year, both in the U.S. and abroad.
How deeply the move would cut into the Mars company's sales is not clear. Buying candy on the way home from school is an age-old American institution.
Justin Brody, a 12-year-old from Westfield interviewed on his way home from school yesterday, said he often stops at Baron's Drug Store on East Broad Street with his friends to satisfy his cravings.
Justin is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and Snickers man. A buddy, Chris Walsh, said he likes Peanut Chews, while pal Alec Romano said he favored mint truffles from Brummer's Chocolate, a local gourmet shop.
Justin said his tastebuds, not advertising, drive his spending.
|
Rest of Story
A nutritionisted commented: "It would be very good if they could get away from the adorable M&M characters."
I've eaten M&M's and other candies since I was a toddler. My first memory is being handed a sheet of candy buttons while sitting in my stroller(I was about 18 months old).
While Saturday morning cartoons are normally inundated with commercials touting junkfood, it is ultimately the parents who buy the stuff and make the decisions about what goes into their kids. I just got home from grocery shopping. This is the snackfood list: 4 boxes of cupcakes, 3 bags of cookies, 3 boxes of brownie mix, 2 containers of jelly hearts, 2 containers of ice cream. I will eat a lot of this and it will probably last this family of four about a week. I am aware they are not healthy choices-I didn't need a commercial to make me buy them and the lack of said commercial is not going to prevent me from doing so.
I also don't get the cut-off age of 12...so a commercial aimed at a 14 year old won't be seen by younger kids?