Kellogg's Uses Health Site To Tell Kids Frosted Flakes Are Gr-r-reat!

Kellogg's, one of the food marketers under attack for contributing to childhood obesity, is trying a new media strategy that is bound to get kids health advocates up in arms: Sponsoring a health site aimed at kids with its Frosted Flakes brand. Large banner ads on the site, Healthy 4Kids, promote Frosted Flakes' sponsorship of Olympic athletes and directing visitors to FrostedFlakes.com are located on the site, alongside a food pyramid, a game promoting apples over cake, and the chance to vote for a favorite vegetable.

The site (4Kids.TV/healthy) targets kids ages 5 to 11, and is part of the Web presence of 4Kids Entertainment, which programs the Saturday morning block on Fox with series such as "Magical DoReMi" and "Sonic X." The healthy lifestyle site was launched Jan. 31, two weeks after the issue of whether marketing increases junk-food consumption among kids intensified with a threatened lawsuit against Frosted Flakes-maker Kellogg and Viacom's Nickelodeon network.

The suit, which might be filed next week by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, wants a Massachusetts court to block Kellogg and Nickelodeon from advertising sugar-heavy-low-nutrient foods to young children, including via Web sites. (Kellogg has indicated a willingness to settle.)

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The Frosted Flakes banner ads are part of Kellogg's "Earn Your Stripes" campaign, which the company says is aimed at raising awareness about staying fit and active. Kellogg is sponsoring six Winter Olympians, whom it says will be featured on Frosted Flakes boxes or in TV ads.

"Kellogg is an official sponsor of the Olympics and the message they're sending in doing so, and the one 4Kids is sending on the Healthy 4Kids Web site, are consistent," said Michael Cimini, a 4Kids representative.

Kellogg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an unrelated interview last week, Al Kahn, the CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, said the new site was created, in part, as a venue for advertisers looking to be associated with healthy living among kids. "It provides the opportunity to give kids a positive message, and gives advertisers a place to go who have an interest in that kind of a message," Kahn said.

The Frosted Flakes banner ads feature photos of skiers, snowboarders, and speed skaters, and the opportunity to watch videos of them in action. The Healthy 4Kids site includes content related to the Winter Olympics.

Jeff Cronin, a representative for CSPI, said: "It makes it look like junk food consumption is somehow linked to athletic achievement."

"There's more than a little irony about a site that purports to support healthy kids that accepts ads for junk food," Cronin said. "A sincere effort in this direction would have a site that only accepts ads for healthful foods."

Content is still being added to the Healthy 4Kids site. 4Kids has said public service announcements and games featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are coming.

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