Minions labelled as worst Hollywood offender for junk food deals targeting kids
The animated film franchise Minions has been named by a children’s food charity as the ‘worst offender’ for signing junk food licensing deals in the past year.
Research from Children’s Food Campaign revealed the brand had signed deals with six-high sugar snacks and drinks products - reported as those that contain more than 22.5g of sugar per 100g – including Haribo, Tic Tac and Kinder Surprise. Minions, a Universal Films creation, also signed deals with three medium sugar products, which count as containing from five to 22.5g of sugar per 100g.
Star Wars and Frozen were also named as junk food allies, with both signing deals with Kellogg’s, Fox’s biscuits and Danone.
The research from Children’s Food Campaign was revealed as two high-profile family movies, Zootropolis and Batman V Superman, are released today (25 March). The charity has called on the likes of Disney to ‘rebalance’ its licensing deals in order to market healthier options to children and their parents.
Children’s Food Campaign has also called upon the government to enforce stricter rules on high-sugar products licensing brand characters, demanding that new policy be introduced as part of the government’s forthcoming childhood obesity strategy.
Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children's Food Campaign, said: "Film and character licensing has become a £250m vehicle for encouraging excessive sugar consumption in children, and that needs to stop. The Committee on Advertising Practice’s imminent consultation on non-broadcast marketing of food and drink to children should be the starting point for changing the rules.
"But ultimately it comes down to the government following up its announcement of a sugary drinks tax by introducing similarly brave and bold measures on tackling junk food marketing."
The list was revealed not long after a number of soft drinks brands were said to be considering suing the UK Government over the plan to introduce a Sugar Tax.