CARU ORDERS KELLOGG TO CHANGE 'BAD APPLE' ADS CARU ORDERS KELLOGG TO CHANGE 'BAD APPLE' ADS Are People Overreacting?

C.A.R.U  Children’s  Advertising  Review  Unit  They monitor and review ads which are targeted towards children.  CARU is the foundation that supports the five a day fruit campaign.

The “Bad Ad”  Applejacks Cereal (Kellogg’s)  New ad campaign contains two cartoon characters. One is CinnaMon the cool character from Cinna Island, and other is Bad Apple a short, round, devious, and grouchy character. CinnaMon  In various executions Bad Apple schemes but fails to beat CinnaMon to a bowl of Apple Jacks. His main objective is to make the cereal taste more like apples than cinnamon.

CARU’s Beef  CARU is mad because fruits are being presented in a negative way.  CARU is accusing Kellogg’s of unfairly and deceptively marketing food of poor nutritional quality to children under 8.  CARU feels that the reference to the apple being “bad” (Bad Apple) should be halted. And that no other fruits should be depicted in a negative way.  Threatening to file $1 billion law suit as early as February 23, 2006.

Kellogg’s Defense  Overreacting to simple ad.  Kellogg says the campaign wasn’t intended to affect children's perceptions of apples.  Kellogg’s research shows that children don’t perceive the taste of apples as desirable in a cold cereal but liked “sweet cinnamon” and that the ads helped kids associate Apple Jacks with other cinnamon- flavored rather than fruit- flavored cereals.

CARU’s Retaliation  “CARU is pointing out a particularly egregious advertising practice, but, still, the overall message is: tasting like apples is a bad thing. They seem to be putting apples on the package to attract parents to the healthfulness but going behind parents back to say to kids, ‘Don’t worry. They don’t taste like apples.’ They want it both ways. Either way, Apple Jack is a sugary cereal that shouldn’t have anything to do with a healthy nutritious breakfast.”

Resolution  Kellogg told CARU it will change the ads to evolve the apple character from being mean-spirited into being frustrated, remove any reference to body characteristics and no long call him “bad.”

What do you think?  Has Kellogg’s past the ethical line of targeting towards children?