In Time for Holiday Shopping Season, PTC Releases “Best and Worst TV Advertisers” List

Today The Parents Television Council released its annual list of “Best and Worst TV Advertisers,” which catalogues companies based on the television content they chose to underwrite with their media dollars over the past year.

“As we approach the Christmas and holiday shopping season, we present this list of ‘Best and Worst TV Advertisers’ so that consumers can vote with their wallet and reward those companies that have clearly demonstrated a commitment to responsible sponsorship practices. Our list also identifies those companies that have shown little or no regard for the explicit content that their media dollars helped to underwrite,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “What people see on TV is influential. TV advertisers certainly know it to be true, otherwise they would not have spent $86 billion last year just on U.S. television. The sole purchase of spending each dollar was to convince Americans to buy their goods and services. The ability to influence children does not stop once the commercial break is over and the program begins. “We applaud those companies that are on our ‘best’ list, as they have shown a willingness to evaluate and adjust their ad buys in order to take into consideration the concerns of parents about the quality and content of programming that’s accessible to children. “At the same time, we urge those companies on our ‘worst’ list to re-evaluate their ad buys on TV shows that routinely feature graphic sex, violence, and profanity, and that have the potential to permanently lower standards for TV content across the board. It’s time for companies to consider the impact on children and families that comes from their day-to-day business decision-making.”

2014 Best and Worst Advertisers

CATEGORY	BEST	WORST
Fast Food Restaurants	Dunkin’ Brands: Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robbins Papa John’s	Burger King Yum! Brands: KFC, Taco Bell
Beverages	Pepsi: Tropicana, Gatorade, Aquafina	Red Bull
Clothing Retail	TJX Companies: Marshalls, Home Goods, TJ Maxx	Gap, Inc.: The Gap, Old Navy
General Retail	Walmart	Target
Personal Items	Chattem: Allegra, Gold Bond Procter and Gamble: Cover Girl, Luvs, Swiffer, Bounty, Tide, Crest, Pampers, Olay, Duracell, Gillette, Always, NyQuil	Johnson & Johnson: Aveeno, Visine, Splenda, Listerine, Clean & Clear Unilever: Dove, Axe, Lipton, Suave, Vaseline, Hellmann’s
Grocery	ConAgra: Healthy Choice, Bertolli, Chef Boyardee, Hunts, RediWhip, J. M. Smucker Company: Jif, Folgers, Crisco, Pillsbury General Mills: Yoplait, Gold Medal, Green Giant, Progresso	Mondelēz International, Inc.: Trident, Wheat Thins, Sour Patch Kids, Tang, Ritz, Oreo, Nabisco Kellogg’s: PopTarts, Eggo, Nestlé: Gerber, Coffee Mate, Friskies, Purina, Hot Pockets, Stouffer’s
Computer Hardware/Software	Hewlett Packard	Microsoft
Financial Services/Software	Intuit	H&R Block