LOS ANGELES
(November 19, 2012) – Just in time for the official start to holiday
season, the Parents Television Council® released its annual list of
the "Top Ten Best and Worst Advertisers" for the 2011-2012
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.
"This week marks the official start of the holiday shopping season
and businesses will quickly find out whether consumers support their
brands. Our list of the best and worst TV advertisers is meant to
serve as a guide to holiday shoppers who support family-friendly
advertisers, knowing the impact those companies have on today’s TV
programming and, by extension, on our entertainment media culture,"
said PTC president Tim Winter.
"If you’re in the market for an automobile this year and want to
show support for family-friendly companies, both Ford and Nissan
landed on our ‘best’ list, sponsoring programs like, Who Do You
Think You Are, and Minute to Win It, while Toyota
appeared on our ‘worst’ list for programs like, Grimm,
Awake, and Smash.
"If consumers are considering where to shop, Wal-Mart and CVS landed
on our best list, but Target secured a spot on the ‘worst’ list.
Other friendly brands include Procter & Gamble (Ivory and Oil of
Olay soap) and General Mills (Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Cheerios,
Haagen-Dazs, and Hamburger Helper).
"For fast food chains, this year Wendy’s exhibited more corporate
responsibility than McDonald’s, which has shown an unfortunate slide
from the family-friendly ranks. When reaching for a soda, we found
Coca-Cola supported far more family-friendly programming than
PepsiCo.
"Other companies like Brinker international – owner of the Chili’s
restaurant chain – which appeared on our ‘worst’ advertisers list as
recently as 2009, turned a positive corner this year by committing
to wholesome, family-friendly content. Brinker’s improvement in its
advertising policy corresponds with solid financial results,
corroborating recent research by retail behemoth Wal-Mart that the
performance of advertising dollars is increased by 18% when
associated with positive programming as opposed to negative
programming.
"As they do every holiday season, businesses depend on every dollar
and this is a chance for consumers to vote with their wallets and
support brands in line with their own values. PTC encourages every
shopper to reward those companies who have consistently supported
positive, family-friendly content throughout the year," 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
2011-2012 television season. Using PTC’s trademarked traffic light
ratings system, each company was assigned a point value based on the
number of green, yellow and red light shows it sponsored. Special
weight was assigned to advertisers that demonstrated a corporate
commitment to sponsor family-friendly programming. To see each prime
time show’s rating, please visit
http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/familyguide/main.asp.
Best:
1. Ford
2. Procter &
Gamble (Pampers, Tide, Crest, Downy, Febreze)
3. General Mills
(Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Pillsbury, Old El Paso)
4. Nissan
5. Wal-Mart
6.
Clorox
7. CVS
8.
Brinker International (Chili’s, Maggiano’s)
9. Wendy’s
10. SC Johnson
and Coca-Cola (tied)
Worst:
1. Yum!
2. Toyota
3.
Metro PCS
4. Sprint
5. Red Bull
6. Target
7. McDonald's
8. CKE Restaurant
(Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s)
9. PepsiCo
10. Apple
To compare this ranking to 2011,
