PTC Ranks the Best and Worst TV Sponsors of 2010

Asks Holiday Shoppers to Support Family-Friendly Advertisers
 

LOS ANGELES (November 23, 2010) – Just in time for the official start to holiday shopping season, the Parents Television Council™ released its annual list of the “Top Ten Best and Worst Advertisers” for the 2009-2010 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.

“The Parents Television Council is urging holiday shoppers to put their money where their values are and consider shopping at ‘best list’ stores like Walmart, Sears and Kmart rather than at ‘worst list’ stores like Macy’s. Our list clearly shows that some corporations are committed to sponsoring television content that is consistent with their corporate image. Others apparently don’t hold such a commitment and help to underwrite some of the most sexually-charged, profanity-laced and violence-ridden content on TV,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

“During the upcoming shopping season, consumers may be in the market for an automobile. We hope they will reflect on our advertiser listing, which includes Ford on the ‘best list’ and GM on the ‘worst list.’ If consumers are choosing hygiene products, we hope they will consider that Procter & Gamble (Ivory and Oil of Olay soap) is on the ‘best list’ and that Unilever (Dove and Axe) is on the ‘worst list.’

“We applaud companies like Smucker and Coca-Cola for their consistency in sponsoring family-friendly shows including ‘Secrets of the Mountain,’ ‘Minute to Win It,’ ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,’ and ‘American Idol.’ We also thank Sears for the positive and dramatic change we’ve seen in their sponsorship decisions. For those who’ve made a home on our worst list, including Yum! Brands (Taco Bell and KFC) and Burger King, we will continue to push for positive change.

“As the TV landscape continues to change, one thing is certain: Content won’t get to consumers unless advertisers help to underwrite its delivery. At the end of the day, TV sponsors can make the difference between positive, family-friendly programming reaching American viewers or being squeezed out of TV lineups by graphic content that objectifies young girls and glamorizes violence.

“There’s no better time for members of the public to show goodwill to companies who support positive programming and family values. We’re asking for your help to make sure companies on the worst advertisers list also hear that message loud and clear,” 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 2009-2010 television season. Data was pulled from September 15, 2009 through May 15, 2010 and over 82,000 individual records were reviewed as the list was formulated. Using PTC’s trademarked traffic light ratings system, each company was assigned a percentage based on the overall number of green, yellow and red light shows it sponsored. Companies predominantly supporting green and yellow light shows were ranked the best, while companies with the highest percentage of ads on red light shows were ranked the worst. Special weight was assigned to advertisers that deliberately sought out family-friendly programming and those that advertised on PTC “campaign shows” which consistently feature problematic sexual, violent or profane content. To see each prime time show’s rating, please visit  http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/familyguide/main.asp.

Select brands are listed below. To view a full list of brand names associated with the following companies, please click on the company name.