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Congressman Pushes Food Cos. To Follow Kellogg Ad Lead

  • Ad Age, Wednesday, June 20, 2007 11 AM
A powerful congressman is pressuring some top food and beverage marketers -- including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kraft Foods and PepsiCo -- to follow Kellogg's lead and ease back on marketing to kids or face the consequences.

Rep. Ed Markey [D-Mass.] has written to the companies, telling them they need to adopt similar curbs. Markey, who chairs the telecom panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has said he will hold hearings about food ads that children see. As part of a lawsuit settlement last week, Kellogg said that in any medium with an audience largely of 12 and under, it will only tout products that meet its new nutritional criteria.

Markey cites a report from the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine that claims marketing can affect food choices. He is concerned that the ads for junk food and fast food are contributing to America's childhood obesity epidemic.

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