'Best,' 'Worst' TV Advertisers Spotlighted by Family-Friendly Media Monitor
by Chad Groening
August 30, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A television watchdog organization dedicated to protecting children from sex, violence, and profanity has released its annual "Top Ten Best and Worst Advertisers." Topping the "best list" was Coca-Cola Enterprises -- and taking the honors of the "worst" was General Motors Corporation.
The Parents Television Council (PTC) says its list spotlights companies for how frequently they use their advertising dollars to support family-friendly, prime-time TV broadcast -- and also calls out those that frequently sponsor graphic television content. As PTC president L. Brent Bozell puts it: "Responsible broadcasting is possible -- and this responsibility not only falls on the entertainment industry, but also on the sponsors."
Following Coca-Cola as best advertisers from October 2005 to May 2006 were the Campbell Soup Company, the Walt Disney Company, Ford Motor Company (on last years "worst" list), and Cingular Wireless. Joining General Motors at the top of the "worst" list this time around are, in order, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler, and Target Corp. (See both lists in their entirety)
According to PTC spokeswoman Melissa Caldwell, a weighted rating formula was used to compile the list. "Because there are so many more 'red-lighted' shows on TV than 'green-lighted' shows, we created a weighted point system," she explains. "So, for every ad that appeared on a green-lighted show, the company was awarded 5.8 points -- and for every ad that appeared on a red-lighted show, the company lost a point."
After scores were calculated, she says, those companies with the most points made the top-ten best list, and those companies with the fewest were placed on the top-ten worst. Caldwell shares that PTC has attempted to present its findings at corporate board meetings, but has not always been successful in doing so.
"Many of the companies on our worst list this year are actually 4-and-0 [on that list four years running], so that makes it difficult to go to their shareholder meetings," she says. "And that's why some of these companies have been on our worst list for more than one year."
But for the companies that are based in the United States, PTC does make an effort to go to their shareholders meeting -- "and I think it has made a difference," notes Caldwell.
Ford Motor Company, currently the target of a pro-family boycott (http://www.boycottford.com) because of its advertising in homosexual publications and support for same-sex "marriage," is the only American automaker on the "best" list. PTC says it applauds Ford for "significantly changing its advertising practices" since the last list was compiled.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
