Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, Ronald McDonald—it’s no surprise that food and beverage companies use toys, cartoon characters, and kid-friendly icons to sell not-so-healthful products. But in the wake of the childhood obesity epidemic and other chronic ills, regulators and advocates have begun to take closer looks at these friendly faces, recognizing what marketers have known all along—using cartoon characters to sell products works, and it works very well. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the major U.S. food and beverage companies spend around $1.6 billion a year to promote their goods to children and adolescents.
That’s a lot of cash—coinciding with a lot of health problems. Although the cartoon characters schlepping sugary cereals and chips aren’t going anywhere soon, some icons of advertising have been sent to retirement, and others might be on their way.
Joe Camel
The famous cartoon ungulate used to blow smoke rings over Times Square, hang out on the beach and in bars, and was synonymous with cigarettes. Joe Camel’s image was so heavily marketed that a 1991 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that by age six almost as many children could correctly identify Joe Camel as they could Mickey Mouse. Mounting evidence showing the influence of marketing on kids led the American Medical Association to ask R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Camel cigarettes, to cease using the cartoon camel. It refused, and the issue went to court, revealing tobacco industry documents showing that the young adult market—ages fourteen to twenty-five—was a primary target in the company’s marketing schemes.
In 1997, after mounting pressure from public-interest groups, Congress, and the courts, R.J. Reynolds finally announced it would voluntarily end the Joe Camel campaign. The company still uses a camel for its marketing, but it’s less like a cartoon and more like a regular ol’ animal. However, the young adult and teen market is still very important to tobacco companies, and they have continued to seek out ways—flavored cigarettes, bar giveaways, music promotions—to attract them.
Willie the Penguin
R.J. Reynolds wasn’t the only tobacco company to use cartoons to market its smokes. Brown & Williamson used a smoking cartoon penguin in almost all of its Kool menthol cigarettes ads. In the 1960s, it phased out Willie, but it wanted to bring an updated, tough-guy version of him back in the ’90s. However, public health officials saw it for what it was—an attempt to appeal to young people. Since 1998, the use of cartoons in tobacco advertising has been strictly prohibited.
No More Buds for Spuds
Spuds MacKenzie made his doggie debut for Anheuser-Busch during the 1987 Super Bowl and immediately became the original party animal. Spuds wasn’t the best-looking dog, but what he lacked in looks he made up for in his personality and charisma—Spuds could be found waterskiing, snowboarding, or lounging by the pool with a cadre of beautiful ladies. “This Spud’s for you” became a well-known catch phrase, and his logo was emblazoned on T-shirts, stuffed animals, and beer mugs. But he wasn’t without criticism. In 1992, groups like Center for Science in the Public Interest and Mothers Against Drunk Driving claimed that the dog was just a ploy to market to kids. Facing criticism, Anheuser-Busch eventually dropped the ad campaign.
However, the company continued to face accusations of marketing to kids for its Budweiser frogs and lizards, which were hugely popular. A 1996 survey found that nine- to eleven-year-olds were more likely to recall the Budweiser frogs than they were Smokey the Bear or Tony the Tiger. The company denied any wrongdoing and continued to use the critters.
Retire Ronald
Could this beloved corporate mascot finally go? Corporate Accountability International (CAI), a nonprofit that fights corporate abuses, is calling on McDonald’s to send the Ronald packing. Its “Retire Ronald” campaign is part of a larger effort to show the negative ways McDonald’s and the clown have used predatory marketing to lure in kids and change their eating habits for the worse.
