ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS WANT THE FUN TAKEN OUT OF ADVERTISING

The American Academy of Pediatrics has asked Congress “to restrict alcohol advertising to what is known as 'tombstone advertising,” which shows only the product, not cartoon characters or attractive women. (So is featuring unattractive women permissible?)

In a policy statement in its journal, Pediatrics, AAP said “advertisers are targeting younger and younger children in an effort to establish 'brand-name preference' at as early an age as possible.” So just like with Camel cigarettes, cartoon characters should be eliminated, according to the association.

The statement also said that “sex is used in commercials to sell everything from beer to shampoo to cars. New research is showing that teenagers' exposure to sexual content in the media may be responsible for earlier onset of sexual intercourse or other sexual activities.”

We’ll keep you posted.