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"Leadership does not depend on being right." - Ivan Illich

TWO VICTORIES FOR CHILD ADVOCATES

Early childhood advocates who have been campaigning against the commercial exploitation of children have recently celebrated two pieces of good news:

1.  BBC Worldwide, the public broadcaster's commercial arm, said Tuesday that it will no longer allow its children's television characters to be used in fast-food sponsorship deals after consumer groups accused it of promoting unhealthy junk foods.  BBC Worldwide said in a statement that it did not renew its "Tweenies" promotion deal with McDonald's after the contract expired July 4 and that it had no plans for further involvement with fast-food manufacturers.  The move follows a report published Monday from an international group of consumers' associations which said that children as young as 2 were being targeted by advertising and promotions from such companies as Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Burger King, Kinder, Mars, Cadbury's, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

2.  After three years of protests led by the Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children coalition, the advertising and marketing industry's Golden Marble Awards have been suspended. The Golden Marbles celebrated the "most successful" corporate marketing to kids regardless of its affect on the well-being of children and families. Presented every September in New York City, past awards heaped praise on child psychologists who advise the advertising industry on how to more effectively market to children, as well as the explosion of "cross-promotion" that ties sales of junk food and junk toys in with popular children's entertainment—movies like Shrek and Spy Kids, along with outlets like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

For more information about the coalition, Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children, go to www.commercialexploitation.com.

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