April, 09 2009, 04:40pm EDT
CCFC to Nickelodeon: Did You Approve the SpongeBob SquareButt Burger King Commercial?
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is asking whether
Nickelodeon Television President Cyma Zarghami approved the controversial
SpongeBob SquareButt television commercial. More than 2,600 CCFC
members have written to Nickelodeon and Burger King in the past 48 hours urging
the companies to pull the ad which features King, the Burger King mascot, singing
a remix of Sir Mix-A-Lot's 1990's hit song, "Baby Got
Back" with the new lyrics, "I like square butts and I cannot
lie." The ad shows images of The King singing in front of women
shaking their behind
BOSTON
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is asking whether
Nickelodeon Television President Cyma Zarghami approved the controversial
SpongeBob SquareButt television commercial. More than 2,600 CCFC
members have written to Nickelodeon and Burger King in the past 48 hours urging
the companies to pull the ad which features King, the Burger King mascot, singing
a remix of Sir Mix-A-Lot's 1990's hit song, "Baby Got
Back" with the new lyrics, "I like square butts and I cannot
lie." The ad shows images of The King singing in front of women
shaking their behinds for the camera intercut with images of SpongeBob dancing
along.
"Parents deserve to know whether Nickelodeon-the most
popular children's television network-signed off on the use of
SpongeBob in a commercial that celebrates lechery and objectifies women,"
said CCFC director Dr. Susan Linn.
Yesterday, Burger King responded to criticisms by disingenuously
claiming that the ad -which is for Kids Meals and features perhaps
the most popular children's television character - was aimed at
adults. The ad ran during Monday Nights Men's NCAA Championship,
which aired at 6:00 pm on the West
Coast. Nickelodeon has yet to respond publicly.
CCFC's letter to Nickelodeon is below:
Ms. Cyma Zarghami, President
Nickelodeon Television
1515 Broadway
New York, NY
10036
SENT VIA FAX
Dear Ms. Zarghami,
We are writing to ask whether you or anyone at Nickelodeon approved the
new "SpongeBob SquareButt" television commercial that is currently
airing for Burger King Kids Meals. As you are probably aware, more than
2,600 members of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood have asked
Nickelodeon and Burger King to pull the commercial. It's bad enough
when a character popular with children, like SpongeBob SquarePants, is used to
promote junk food, but it's absolutely egregious when that character
simultaneously promotes objectified, sexualized images of women.
Yesterday, Burger King responded via a marketing trade publication to
complaints about the ad. While their response was disingenuous -
they claimed the ad for Kids Meals featuring SpongeBob was aimed at adults
- at least they responded. We suspect Burger King, which positions
itself as an edgier alternative to other fast food chains, actually welcomes
the publicity from this controversy.
But we wonder why a children's television station like Nickelodeon
would want to link one of its most popular and profitable characters to this sort
of lechery and objectification of women. That's why we are asking
if you approved the use of SpongeBob in this commercial (and the longer
Internet viral video, which is frankly even more disturbing).
If you did - and do - approve, is this part of a new trend
at Nickelodeon? Is there a plan at Nickelodeon to make your most famous
characters edgier in order to maintain their appeal to children as they grow
up? We can't help but notice the connection between this ad and the
new tween Dora doll, which will distinguish itself from earlier incarnations of
Dora by focusing on fashion and her appearance. We think parents of
children who watch your programming would appreciate hearing answers to these
questions.
We are attaching an email from the mother of two young children who
were watching the NCAA championship when the ad was aired. We look
forward to your response, and would be happy to discuss our members concerns
with you.
Sincerely,
Susan Linn Josh
Golin
Director, CCFC Associate
Director, CCFC
From: Mindy Holohan [mailto:xxxxxxx@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 12:38 PM
To: ccfc
Subject: Re: Tell Nick and Burger King: SpongeBob and Sexualization Don't Mix
I can not express how happy I am to see the immediate action being taken in response to this ad. When we viewed it during the game, I said to my husband that the ad illustrates exactly how horribly mixed up and misdirected advertising has become. My husband is currently a doctoral student at Michigan State University and both of my parents are dedicated alumni. Due to these connections, our daughters ages 6 & 11 were very excited to support the Spartans and were allowed to stay up late to watch MSU in the championship game. Children all across our state were allowed to do the same. Anticipating inappropriate advertising, we chose to take some of the edge off by muting the commercials. Unfortunately, the sexual innuendo and cross-promotional content of the Burger King/Sponge Bob ad came through loud and clear, even without the soundtrack.
As a Michigan resident and parent, I feel incredibly violated by the tactics of Burger King and Nickelodeon. They obviously knew that children would be watching the game or else they would not have invested in such valuable ad space to promote a kids meal. The suggestiveness of the dancing and the exploitation of the female dancers is bad enough. Sexualizing a popular children's character and child-centered products is unforgivable. I am so grateful that my children are on spring break this week as I predict that this ad, above all of those that we were exposed to during the NCAA playoff game, will be the one that children are acting out and imitating in schools and with their peers over the next few days. The combination of the comical "burger king", the catchy beat, the "bootylicious" language and Sponge Bob SquarePants just about ensures that this is so. It also sets a new low for an increasingly exploitative industry that consistently demonstrates little to no respect for the wellbeing of children.
Mindy Holohan
Grand Rapids, MI
Fairplay, formerly known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, educates the public about commercialism's impact on kids' wellbeing and advocates for the end of child-targeted marketing. Fairplay organizes parents to hold corporations accountable for their marketing practices, advocates for policies to protect kids, and works with parents and professionals to reduce children's screen time.
LATEST NEWS
'Important Step': EPA Finalizes Rule to Clean Up Forever Chemical Contamination
While praising the move, campaigners also said that the agency "must require polluters to pay to clean up the entire class of thousands of toxic PFAS chemicals, and it must ban nonessential uses."
Apr 19, 2024
Environmental and public health advocates on Friday welcomed the Biden administration's latest step to tackle "forever chemicals," a new Superfund rule that "will help ensure that polluters pay to clean up their contamination" across the country.
"It is time for polluters to pay to clean up the toxic soup they've dumped into the environment," declared Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We all learned in kindergarten that if we make a mess, we should clean it up. The Biden administration's Superfund rule is a big step in the right direction for holding polluters accountable for cleaning up decades of contamination."
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—called forever chemicals because they remain in the human body and environment for long periods—have been used in products including firefighting foam, food packaging, and furniture, and tied to various health issues such as cancers, developmental and immune damage, and heart and liver problems.
"This action, coupled with EPA's recent announcement of limits on PFAS in drinking water, are critical steps in protecting the public."
As part of the Biden administration's "PFAS Strategic Roadmap," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule designates perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Superfund law—the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
"President Joe Biden pledged to make PFAS a priority in 2020 as part of the Biden-Harris plan to secure environmental justice. Today the Biden EPA fulfilled this important promise," said Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
David Andrews, EWG's deputy director of investigations and a senior scientist, has led studies that have found that PFAS are potentially harming over 330 species and more than 200 million Americans could have PFOA and PFOS in their tap water.
"For far too long, the unchecked use and disposal of toxic PFAS have wreaked havoc on our planet, contaminating everything from our drinking water to our food supply," he noted. "Urgent action is needed to clean up contaminated sites, eliminate future release of these pollutants, and shield people from additional exposure."
Walter Mugdan, a volunteer with the Environmental Protection Network and the former Superfund director for EPA Region 2, explained that the "landmark action will allow the agency to more strongly address PFAS contamination and expedite cleanups of these toxic forever chemicals while also ensuring that cleanup costs fall on those most responsible—the industrial polluters who continue to manufacture and use them."
"This action, coupled with EPA's recent announcement of limits on PFAS in drinking water, are critical steps in protecting the public from these harmful compounds," added the former official, referencing the first-ever national limits on forever chemicals in drinking water that the agency finalized earlier this month.
As an EWG blog post detailed in anticipation of the new rule earlier this week:
A hazardous substance designation allows the EPA to use money from its Superfund—the EPA's account for addressing this kind of contamination—to quickly jump-start cleanup at a PFOA- or PFOS-polluted site and to recover the costs from the polluters. If a company that contributed to the PFAS contamination problem refuses to cooperate, the EPA can order a cleanup anyway and fine the company if they fail to take action.
[...]
When a chemical is added to the list of hazardous substances, the EPA sets a reportable quantity. Any time a substance is released above that quantity it must be reported. By imposing reportable quantities, the EPA will get immediate information about new PFAS releases and the chance to investigate immediately and, if necessary, take actions to reduce additional exposures. This information is also shared with state or tribal and local emergency authorities, so it can reach communities more quickly.
"For years, communities that have been exposed to these chemicals have been demanding that polluters be held accountable for the harm they have created and to pay for cleanup," Safer States national director Sarah Doll highlighted. "We applaud EPA for taking this step and encourage them to take the next step and list all PFAS under the Superfund law."
Liz Hitchcock, director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, the federal policy program of Toxic-Free Future, similarly celebrated the EPA rule, calling it "an important step forward that will go a long way toward holding PFAS polluters accountable and beginning to clean up contaminated sites across the country."
Like Doll, she also stressed that "until we declare the full class of PFAS hazardous and prevent further pollution by ending the use of all PFAS chemicals in common products like food packaging and firefighting gear, communities will continue to pay the price with our health and tax dollars."
Mary Grant, the Public Water for All campaign director at Food & Water Watch, agreed that further action is necessary.
"Chemical companies have attempted to hide what they have long known about the dangers of PFAS, creating a widespread public health crisis in the process," Grant emphasized. "These polluters must absolutely be held accountable to pay to clean up their toxic mess."
"Today's new rules are a necessary and important step to jump start the cleanup process for two types of PFAS," she said. "While we thank the EPA for finalizing these rules, much more is necessary: The EPA must require polluters to pay to clean up the entire class of thousands of toxic PFAS chemicals, and it must ban nonessential uses of PFAS to stop the pollution in the first place."
Noting that it's not just the EPA considering forever chemicals policies, Grant called on Congress to "reject various legislative proposals to exempt for-profit companies, including the water and sewer privatization industry, from being held accountable to pay to clean up PFAS."
"It is an outrageous hypocrisy that large for-profit water corporations seek to privatize municipal water and sewer systems by touting themselves as a solution to PFAS contamination, and yet they want to carve themselves out of accountability for cleanup costs," she argued. "No corporation should have free rein to pollute."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Green Groups Slam RFK Jr. as 'Dangerous Conspiracy Theorist and Science Denier'
"With so much at stake, we stand united in denouncing RFK Jr.'s false environmentalist claims."
Apr 19, 2024
A dozen national green groups on Friday published an open letter exposing what they say are the dangers of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s quixotic Independent U.S. presidential bid by highlighting his embrace of conspiracy theories and his use of language often spoken by climate deniers.
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not an environmentalist. He is a dangerous conspiracy theorist and science denier whose agenda would be a disaster for our communities and the planet," the letter argues. "He may have once been an environmental attorney, but now RFK Jr. is peddling the term 'climate change orthodoxy' and making empty promises to clean up our environment with superficial proposals."
"The truth is, by rejecting science, what he offers is no different than Donald Trump," the signers asserted, referring to the former Republican president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee.
The letter continues:
In the fact-free world that both he and Trump live in, objective reality simply does not exist. Their policy platforms are instead driven by what will benefit Big Oil and the greedy corporations that fund them. We know, however, that environmental progress depends on following scientific fact and putting people over politics.
With so much at stake, we stand united in denouncing RFK Jr.'s false environmentalist claims. We can't, in good conscience, let him continue co-opting the credibility and successes of our movement for his own personal benefit.
"RFK Jr. is a bleak reminder that our democracy is incredibly vulnerable," the letter adds. "Any support for this Kennedy-in-name-only will inevitably result in a second Trump term and the complete erosion of vital environmental and social gains made to date."
The letter is signed by the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, Friends of the Earth Action, LCV Victory Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Climate Emergency Advocates, Climate Power, Earthjustice Action, Food & Water Action, NextGen America, Sierra Club Independent Action, Sunrise Movement, and 350 Action.
Earlier this month, the Kennedy campaign fired New York state director Rita Palma after she admitted that her "No. 1 priority" is to siphon votes from President Joe Biden—who she described as the "mutual enemy" of both the Kennedy and Trump voter.
Last month, More Perfect Unionreleased a video highlighting the ultrawealthy Republican donors and Trump backers who are also financing Kennedy's White House run, which many observers believe could play spoiler to Biden's reelection bid.
In a stinging rebuke, prominent members of the Kennedy political dynasty reaffirmed their support for Biden on Thursday. Numerous relatives have been urging Kennedy to drop out of the race.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Youth Lead Global Strike Demanding 'Climate Justice Now'
"We are many people and youths who want to express our frustration over what decision-makers are doing right now: They don't care about our future and aren't doing anything to stop the climate crisis," one young activist said.
Apr 19, 2024
Ahead of Earth Day, young people around the world are participating in a global strike on Friday to demand "climate justice now."
In Sweden, Greta Thunberg joined hundreds of other demonstrators for a march in Stockholm; in Kenya, participants demanded that their government join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; and in the U.S., youth activists are kicking off more than 200 Earth Day protests directed at pressing President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency.
"We're gathered here to fight, once again, for climate justice," Thunberg toldAgence France-Presse at the Stockholm protest, which drew around 500 people. "It's now been more than five and a half years that we've been doing the same thing, organizing big global strikes for the climate and gathering people, youths from the entire world."
"I lost my home to climate change. Now I'm fighting so that others don't lose their homes."
The first global youth climate strike, which grew out of Thunberg's Fridays for Future school strikes, took place on March 15, 2019. Since then, both emissions and temperatures have continued to rise, with 2023 blowing past the record for hottest year. Yet, according to Climate Action Tracker, no country has policies in place that are compatible with limiting global heating to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.
"We are many people and youths who want to express our frustration over what decision-makers are doing right now: They don't care about our future and aren't doing anything to stop the climate crisis," Karla Alfaro Gripe, an 18-year-old participant at the Stockholm march, told AFP.
The global strikes are taking place under the umbrella of Friday's for Future, which has three main demands: 1. limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, 2. ensure climate justice and equity, and 3. listen to the most accurate, up-to-date science."Fight with us for a world worth living in," the group wrote on their website, next to a link inviting visitors to find actions in their countries.
Participants shared videos and images of their actions on social media.
European strikers also gathered in London, Dublin, and Madrid.
In Asia, Save Future Bangladesh founder Nayon Sorkar posted a video from the Meghna River on Bangladesh's Bola Island, where erosion destroyed his family's home when he was three years old.
"I lost my home to climate change," Sorkar wrote. "Now I'm fighting so that others don't lose their homes."
Also in Bangladesh, larger crowds rallied in Dhaka, Sylhet, Feni, and Bandarban for climate action.
"Young climate activists in Bandarban demand a shift to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels," said Sajjad Hossain, the divisional coordinator for Youthnet for Climate Justice Bangladesh. "We voiced urgency for sustainable energy strategies and climate justice. Let's hold governments accountable for a just transition!"
In Kenya, young people struck specifically to demand that the government sign on to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"As a member of the Lake Victoria community, the importance of the treaty in our climate strikes cannot be overstated," Rahmina Paullette, founder of Kisumu Environmental Champions and a coordinator for Fridays for Future Africa, said in a statement. "By advocating for its implementation, we address the triple threat of climate change, plastic pollution, and environmental injustice facing our nation."
"Halting fossil fuel expansion not only safeguards crucial ecosystems but also combats the unjust impacts of environmental degradation, ensuring a more equitable and sustainable future for our community and the wider Kenyan society," Paullette said.
In the U.S., Fridays for Future NYC planned for what they expected to be the largest New York City climate protest since September 2023's March to End Fossil Fuels. The action will begin at Foley Square at 2:00 pm Eastern Time, at which point more than 1,000 students and organizers are expected to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to rally in front of Borough Hall.
The strike "is part of a national escalation of youth-led actions in more than 200 cities and college campuses around the country, all calling on President Biden to listen to our generation and young voters, stop expanding fossil fuels, and declare a climate emergency that meaningfully addresses fossil fuels, creating millions of good paying union jobs, and preparing us for climate disasters in the process," Fridays for Future NYC said in a statement.
The coalition behind the climate emergency drive, which also includes the Sunrise Movement, Fridays for Future USA, and Campus Climate Network, got encouraging news on Wednesday when Bloomberg reported that the White House had reopened internal discussions into potentially declaring a climate emergency.
"We're staring down another summer of floods, fires, hurricanes, and extreme heat," Sunrise executive director Aru Shiney-Ajay said in a statement. "Biden must do what right Republicans in Congress are unwilling to do: Stand up to oil and gas CEOs, create green union jobs, and prepare us for climate disasters. Biden must declare a climate emergency and use every tool at his disposal to tackle the climate crisis and prepare our communities to weather the storm. If Biden wants to be taken seriously by young people, he needs to deliver on climate change."
The coalition is planning events leading up to Monday including dozens of Earth Day teach-ins beginning Friday to encourage members of Congress to pressure Biden on a climate emergency and Reclaim Earth Day mobilizations on more than 100 college and university campuses to demand that schools divest from and cut ties with the fossil fuel industry.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular