SELLING OUT
OUR SCHOOLS
Gary Ruskin
Commercial Alert
www.commercialalert.org
gary@commercialalert.org
Commercial Alert is a
national nonprofit
consumer and public
health organization that
protects children and
communities from
commercialism.
Disclosure Statement

I have no relevant financial
relationships with the manufacturer(s)
of any commercial product(s) and/or
provider of commercial services
discussed in this CME activity.
I do not intend to discuss an
unapproved/investigative use of a
commercial product/device in my
presentation.
Today’s Agenda




Why companies want to advertise in
schools
Latest news and controversies
Why advertising shouldn’t be allowed
in schools
How you can remove corporate
advertising and marketing from
schools in your city, state and across
the country
Why Companies Want to
Advertise to School Children

Children spend a lot of time at school

School children are a captive audience
“The biggest selling point to advertisers,” lies in
“forcing kids to watch two minutes of
commercials”
-- Joel Babbit, former president of Channel One
(Source: Joel Babbit, “Channel One Vision,” paper presented to the On the Youth Market
conference, Boston, May 5-6, 1994.)
Why Companies Want to Advertise
to School Children (continued)

Advertisers use the authority of the
school as a marketing tool

School is good place for companies
to brand children
“The school system is where you build brand loyalty.”
-- John Alm, president of Coca-Cola Enterprises
(Source: Scott Leith, “A Lesson for Coke; Atlanta-based CCE Takes on Critics, Defends Soft-drink Sales
in Schools,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 6, 2003.)
Bus Radio
Bus Radio is a new startup company
 Installs audio equipment in school buses
 Show includes music, “entertainment
programming,” “cartoon updates,” “oddball
news wire” and PSAs”
 8 minutes of ads per hour
 Targets grades 1-12 (that is, children as
young as five years old).
 Promises funding to schools based on an
obfuscated “formula”
More information about Bus Radio available at:
www.commercialalert.org/issues/education/busradio
Bus Radio (continued)
Bus Radio claims:
 It “will take targeted student marketing to
the next level”
 Advertisers will get “a unique and effective
way to reach the highly sought after teen
and tween market.”
 Ads for one movie it promoted “received
recall rates in the 90% range”
Source: Bus Radio’s website
Bus Radio’s Plans



In the 2006-7 school year: 100,000
children in 800 school buses
Operating in California, Georgia,
Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan,
New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee and
Washington
Next year: 1 million children
nationwide
Products Advertised on
Bus Radio



The WB television network and its
programs (renamed the CW network)
Warner Brothers movies
Virgin Mobile mobile phones
Groups Opposing Bus Radio













Action Coalition for Media
Education
Alliance for Childhood
American Family Association
California Center for Public
Health Advocacy
Campaign for a Commercial-Free
Childhood
Center for a New American
Dream
Center for Science in the Public
Interest
Center for Screen-Time
Awareness
Children Now
Concerned Women for America
Commercial Alert
Consumers Union
Eagle Forum












Global Exchange
Massachusetts Action for Healthy
Kids
Massachusetts Public Health
Association
MomsRising
National Council of Churches
Committee on Public Education
and Literacy
National PTA
Obligation, Inc.
Organic Consumers Association
Parents’ Action for Children
Sojourners
The Presbyterian Church (USA)
Office of Child Advocacy
Unitarian Universalist Association
of Congregations
Channel One






12+ minutes of TV programming each school day
Audience: more than 7 million students
Loans TV sets to schools in exchange for playing
programming in classrooms
Programming includes news stories, banter,
quizzes, music
At least two minutes of ads per show, plus
other commercial messages, sales pitches, etc.
Consumes a total of one full school week per
school year, including one full school day just
for ads
More information about Channel One is available at:
www.commercialalert.org/issues/education/channel-one
Products That Have Been
Advertised on Channel One



Soda pop (Pepsi, Pepsi Blue, Mountain
Dew)
Junk food (Snickers, McDonald’s,
Twinkies, Winterfresh gum)
Violent & crass movies (“Starsky & Hutch,”
“Monkeybone,”“Supernova,”
“Rollerball,”“Dude, Where’s My Car”)
(We define junk food as: foods or beverages that are relatively high in saturated or trans
fat, added sugar or salt, and relatively low in vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber.)
Source: Obligation, Inc. Video footage of Channel One commercials is at:
www.obligation.org/channeloneallvideos.php
Smoking Class: How Schools and Channel
One Promote Tobacco to Students



Cinema portrayals of tobacco are highly effective
in luring young people into the ranks of tobacco
users – even more so than conventional
advertising
Adolescents who see plenty of smoking on
screen are nearly three times more likely to start
smoking than those who see the least
It is estimated that each year smoking in movies
recruits 390,000 new young smokers in the
United States
Sources: Madeline A. Dalton, James D. Sargent, Michael L. Beach, Linda Titus-Ernstoff, Jennifer J.
Gibson, M. Bridget Ahrens, Jennifer J. Tickle, Todd F. Heatherton, “Effect of Viewing Smoking in
Movies on Adolescent Smoking Initiation: A Cohort Study.” The Lancet, July 26, 2003.
362(9380):281-5.
Stanton A. Glantz, “Smoking in Movies, A Major Problem and a Real Solution.” The Lancet, July 26,
2003;362(9380):258-9.
Smoking Class (continued)



Commercial Alert studied movie ads
on Channel One from 1/1/00 to
5/31/05
We identified 67 movies advertised
during that period
40 of those movies (59.7%) had
scenes showing smoking
Report is available at:
www.commercialalert.org/smokingclass.pdf
Ads More Effective Than News
on Channel One


Study of 240 7th and 8th graders
Students remembered an average of
3.5 ads but only 2.7 news stories
Source: Erica Weintraub Austin, Yi-Chun “Yvonnes” Chen, Bruce E.
Pinkleton and Jessie Quintero Johnson, “Benefits and Costs of
Channel One in a Middle School Setting and the Role of Media
Literacy Training.” Pediatrics 2006; 117; 423-433
Alternatives to Channel One

Channel One does nothing in schools that
cannot be done better, but without the
commercial advertising.

Many alternatives to Channel One do not
require students to watch advertising:
(newspaper and magazine articles, CNN
Student News, etc.)
Hard Times at Channel One



Losing schools and audience: from
8.3 million viewers to “more than
seven million”
Losing advertisers and ad revenues
Three Channel One/Primedia
lobbyists pled guilty in 2006 to
corruption charges (including the
now-infamous Jack Abramoff)
Groups Opposing
Channel One


















American College of Preventive Medicine
Action Coalition for Media Education
Alliance for Childhood
American Family Association
California Center for Public Health
Advocacy
Campaign for a Commercial-Free
Childhood
Center for a New American Dream
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Screen-Time Awareness
Children Now
Concerned Women for America
Commercial Alert
Connecticut Public Health Association
Consumers Union
Eagle Forum
Focus on the Family
Global Exchange
Massachusetts Action for Healthy Kids
Maryland Public Health Association














Massachusetts Public Health Association
Michigan Public Health Association
MomsRising
National Council of Churches Committee
on Public Education and Literacy
New Mexico Public Health Association
National PTA
Obligation, Inc.
Organic Consumers Association
Parents’ Action for Children
Sojourners
Southern Baptist Convention
The Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of
Child Advocacy
Unitarian Universalist Association of
Congregations
United Methodist Church
Yale Prevention Research Center
Clinton/AHA/American Beverage
Association Agreement
Restricts the sale of soda pop in
schools by 2009-10 school year
 Only water, unsweetened juice and
low-fat milks to elementary and
middle schools
 Diet sodas and “sports drinks” are
allowed for sale in high schools

Clinton/AHA/American Beverage
Assn. Agreement (continued)







Agreement is entirely voluntary
Not enforceable
No enforcement provisions
No penalties for companies that fail to
meet terms of agreement
Schools not a party to agreement
Agreement does not limit in-school
advertising or marketing
Bottom line: the agreement will likely
have little, if any, effect
Clinton/AHA/Food
Manufacturers Agreement


Weak standards
Restricts most “competitive foods”
(foods sold outside school meals
programs) to a limit of 35% of total
calories from fat, 10% from saturated
fat, and 35% for sugar content by
weight.
Clinton/AHA/Food Manufacturers
Agreement (continued)








Agreement is entirely voluntary
Not enforceable
No enforcement provisions
No penalties for companies that fail to
meet terms of agreement
Independent vendors not a party to
agreement
Schools not a party to agreement
Agreement does not limit in-school
advertising or marketing
Bottom line: the agreement will likely
have little, if any, effect
Enforcement of Federal
Competitive Foods Rule



Existing federal rules prohibit the
sale of “foods of minimal nutritional
value” during mealtimes in school
cafeterias.
Last year, Commercial Alert
petitioned USDA to enforce current
rules, which schools often disobey
USDA refused to enforce current
rules against sale of FMNVs
Other Forms of Advertising
in Schools








Sponsored educational
materials
School book covers
Wall posters
Ads on buses
Billboards
Scoreboard ads
Other signage
Vending machines ads




Ads on in-school fast food
storefronts
Incentive programs (i.e. Pizza
Hut’s “Book It” program)
Product placement in school
books
Sale of naming rights to parts
of schools, or even entire
schools
Arguments Against Advertising
to School Children
1.
2.
3.
Improper use of the compulsory
schooling laws and state power for
private purposes
Advertising of unhealthy products
harms children’s health
Ads in the classroom waste school
time and tax dollars
Arguments Against Advertising to
School Children (continued)
4.
5.
6.
7.
Purpose of advertising is
antithetical to the purpose of
education
Promotes the wrong values to
children (i.e. materialism)
Corrupts the integrity of public
education
Children should not be for sale
What Can Pediatricians Do to Help
Stop Advertising to School Children?
Advocate at federal, state and local



levels for:
Commercial-free schools
Bans on Bus Radio, Channel One
Childhood Obesity Prevention
Agenda, to stop the sale and
marketing of junk food in schools
Childhood Obesity Prevention Agenda,
part 1
States, municipalities and school boards should prohibit the
marketing of junk food on school property.

Prohibit contracts that obligate children to watch or listen to ads
for junk food on school property. An example is Channel One,
an in-school TV marketing program.

Prohibit display of visual advertisements for junk food in school,
such as billboards, signs, posters, and logo placements.

Prohibit the use of corporate-sponsored curricula featuring or
promoting junk food products.

Prohibit exclusive marketing (pouring rights) contracts between
soda beverage companies and school districts, school food
service agencies and school groups.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Agenda,
part 2
States, municipalities and school boards should ban the
sale or distribution of junk food on school property.

Prohibit sale of junk food on school property, including, but
not limited to, a la carte, before-school or after-school
programs, concession stands or vending machines.

Prohibit the distribution of junk food as a reward or prize for
good behavior or exemplary performance.

Prohibit distribution of free samples of junk food on school
property.

Amend Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices statutes
and ordinances to prohibit marketing of junk food to
children on school property.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Agenda,
part 3
States, municipalities and school boards should
provide financial rewards to school districts,
schools and food service agencies that exceed
federal nutrition guidelines and obey restrictions on
the sale of junk food in schools.

School districts and school food service agencies should
exceed the nutritional standards of the National School
Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program,
especially by providing plenty of whole grains, fresh
fruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy products, local and
organic products, but no foods with hydrogenated
vegetable shortening, and few or no fried foods.

School districts and school food service agencies must
strictly comply with the federal competitive foods rule.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Agenda
Selected Endorsers
Organizations:















American College of Preventive
Medicine
Center for a New American Dream
Center for Food and Justice
Center for Media Education
Center for Science in the Public
Interest
Connecticut Public Health Association
Commercial Alert
Eagle Forum
Maryland Public Health Association
Massachusetts Public Health
Association
Michigan Public Health Association
New Mexico Public Health Association
Obligation, Inc.
Organic Consumers Association
Yale Prevention Research Center
Individuals:

Lawrence Cheskin (Director, Johns
Hopkins Weight Management Center)

Greg Critser (author, Fat Land)

Cara B. Ebbeling (Harvard Medical
School)

Leon Eisenberg (Harvard Medical
School)

Gerald Hass (Harvard Medical
School)

David Katz (Yale Medical School)

Frances Moore Lappe (author, Diet for
a Small Planet)

Marion Nestle (author, Food Politics)

Alvin Poussaint (Harvard Medical
School)

Raffi (children’s troubadour)

Eric Rimm (Harvard School of Public
Health)

Mary Story (U. of Minnesota)

Walter Willett (Harvard School of
Public Health)
Industry Professionals Are Troubled
by Marketing to School Children
According to a 2004 Harris poll of youth
advertising and marketing professionals:
 only 45% “feel that today’s young people can
handle advertising in schools.”
 47% believe that “schools should be a
protected area” and that “there should not be
advertising to students on school grounds.”
Source: Harris poll, April 13, 2004
Strong Public Support for Our Side
According to a 2004 Yankelovich poll of American
consumers:
 61% feel “the amount of marketing and
advertising is out of control.”
 65% believe that “there should be more limits
and regulations on marketing and advertising.”
According to a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll:
 83% of American adults believe "public schools
need to do a better job of limiting children's
access to unhealthy foods like snack foods,
sugary soft drinks and fast food.”
Sources: “Consumer Resistance to Marketing Reaches All-Time High,”
Yankelovich poll, April 15, 2004; Wall Street Journal poll, February 15,
2005