Kellogg Told “No Bad Apples”
Kellogg just isn’t feeling the love of late. As the cereal giant heads towards a Massachusetts lawsuit about advertising to children (reported earlier), an advertising industry group has slapped them on the wrist.
The Children’s Advertising Review Unit complained that Kellogg’s “Bad Apple” character might give kids the wrong idea about real fruit, according to this report on AdAge. The mascot is part of the Apple Jacks advertising campaign. The character is, according to the report, “short, round, devious and grouchy.” He’s the villain of the little set pieces that promote the cereal.
CARU complained that the ads “disparaged the taste of real apples,” but have you had commercial apples lately? Maybe Kellogg is just exposing the truth.
I’m all for stopping unhealthy messages aimed at impressionable children, but one can see how this idea started: “Bad apple” is just a term in the English language. Hopefully, no one will admonish schools for teaching the idiom.
Kellogg agreed to change the advertising campaign, even though they disagree with CARU’s findings.
