Recently the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission to block a cartoon show scheduled to appear on October 11 on the cable network Nicktoons. The show features characters originally developed to market Sketcher shoes to children. The complaint charges that the show would violate the federal requirement that no cable TV operator air more than twelve minutes of commercials per hour of children’s programming.
Zevo-3 cartoon features the following Z-Strap heros: Z-Strap, Elastika and Kewl Breeze. These three characters were first created by Sketchers to promote their shoes to children and appeared in comic books and on television commercials for the shoes. According to complaint, “Sketchers and Nicktoon are attempting to escalate commercialization on children’s television and if successful, other companies will follow.” Kristen Van Cott, co-executive producer of “Zevo-3″ and senior vice president of Sketchers Entertainment, claims there are no overt pitches for Sketchers products in the cartoon and the plot lines reflect issues such as bullying and peer pressure that kids deal with on a daily basis.
Zevo-3
What do you think? Are cartoons that feature product mascots like Tony the Tiger and Ronald McDonald appropriate heros for full-length children’s programs? In fact, according to the complaint, in the 1990′s, Chester Cheetah, the spokescat for Frito-lay, and Cheesasaurus Rex, a cheesy-toned dinosaur who appeared in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese ads, were both scheduled to appear in shows until an advocacy coalition complained to the FCC. Maybe you think that parents are in charge of what their children watch and since these characters are everywhere, why not feature them in cartoons? Read the full article by David Crary and voice your choice here.
Here’s one of the Z-Strap commercials that inspired the show:
