Parent's Television Council announces worst TV sponsors of 2012
"Bad" sponsors sponsored shows with sexual content, foul language & violence like Smash or America's Next Top Model.
“Good” companies sponsored shows with positive, family-friendly themes like Minute to Win It.
Our list of the best and worst TV advertisers is meant to serve as a guide to holiday shoppers who support family-friendly advertisers, knowing the impact those companies have on today’s TV programming and, by extension, on our entertainment media culture,” said PTC president Tim Winter.
Just in time for the official start to holiday season, the Parents Television Council® released its annual list of the “Top Ten Best and Worst Advertisers” for the 2011-2012 television season.
Companies were ranked based on the content in the television shows they chose to underwrite with their advertising dollars. “Best” companies primarily sponsored programs with positive, family-friendly themes while advertisers that earned the “worst” label commonly appeared on shows that included harsh language, violence and sexual content.
“This week marks the official start of the holiday shopping season and businesses will quickly find out whether consumers support their brands.
“If you’re in the market for an automobile this year and want to show support for family-friendly companies, both Ford and Nissan landed on our ‘best’ list, sponsoring programs like, ‘Who Do You Think You Are,’ and ‘Minute To Win It,’ while Toyota appeared on our ‘worst’ list for programs like, ‘Grimm,’ ‘Awake,’ and ‘Smash.’
“If consumers are considering where to shop, Wal-Mart and CVS landed on our best list, but Target secured a spot on the ‘worst’ list. Other friendly brands include Procter & Gamble (Ivory and Oil of Olay soap) and General Mills (Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs, and Hamburger Helper).
“For fast food chains, this year Wendy’s exhibited more corporate responsibility than McDonald’s, which has shown an unfortunate slide from the family-friendly ranks. When reaching for a soda, we found Coca-Cola supported far more family-friendly programming than PepsiCo.
“Other companies like Brinker international – owner of the Chili’s restaurant chain – which appeared on our ‘worst’ advertisers list as recently as 2009, turned a positive corner this year by committing to wholesome, family-friendly content. Brinker’s improvement in its advertising policy corresponds with solid financial results, corroborating recent research by retail behemoth Wal-Mart that the performance of advertising dollars is increased by 18% when associated with positive programming as opposed to negative programming.
“As they do every holiday season, businesses depend on every dollar and this is a chance for consumers to vote with their wallets and support brands in line with their own values. PTC encourages every shopper to reward those companies who have consistently supported positive, family-friendly content throughout the year,” Winter concluded.
Top Ten Best and Worst Advertisers
The PTC’s list of the “Top Ten Best and Worst Advertisers” is based on each company’s prime time broadcast television ad buys during the 2011-2012 television season. Using PTC’s trademarked Traffic Light ratings system, each company was assigned a point value based on the number of green, yellow and red light shows it sponsored.
Special weight was assigned to advertisers that demonstrated a corporate commitment to sponsor family-friendly programming.
To see each prime time show’s rating, please visit http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/familyguide/main.asp
1. Ford
2. Procter & Gamble (Pampers, Tide, Crest, Downy, Febreze)
3. General Mills (Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Pillsbury, Old El Paso)
4. Nissan
5. Wal-Mart
6. Clorox
7. CVS
8. Brinker International (Chili’s, Maggiano’s)
9. Wendy’s
10. SC Johnson and Coca-Cola (tied)
Worst TV sponsors:
1. Yum!
2. Toyota
3. Metro PCS
4. Sprint
5. Red Bull
6. Target
7. McDonald's
8. CKE Restaurant (Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s)
9. PepsiCo
10. Apple
Source S2
typical
Edited at 2012-11-20 04:41 am (UTC)
Ok, but that still doesn't make Glee an ok show to watch.
I didn't say it did. What I am saying is that "the enemy of my enemy of my friend" is a dangerous thing even in, like, real war. When you're discussing social justice issues in the media, it doesn't work at all.
You hate Glee for the right reasons, I assume. The tokenism of the characters of color, the stereotyping of the gay characters, the way the perspective defaults to white male constantly. But all of those things you hate about Glee are things that the PTC either doesn't give a shit about (they have never given one crap about there being too many white people on television, despite the fact that that is probably the single biggest thing TV does to actually damage the esteem of our children), or stuff they support. (Teenage marriage? The PTC wouldn't be mad about that. The thing that would get them mad about that storyline would be the part where they decide it's not a good idea, after all.)
You're absolutely right. There is a lot of problematic stuff on Glee. Maybe so much that the show is ultimately unforgivable. But if I hate Glee because it's not progressive enough, or you do; and the PTC hates Glee because it's too progressive, then that doesn't mean that I (or you) and the PTC should come together and hate Glee from across the aisle together. At least from my perspective, it should instead show just how hidebound and awful the PTC is that they think the also-hidebound mess that is Glee is too progressive to be watched.