Childhood bullying not M&M's fault, panel rules

Posted at 12:25 PM on August 8, 2011 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Marketing and advertising

Does the red M&M in this ad encourage kids to be bullies?

Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau took two months to investigate viewer complaints before ruling the answer is "no," Ad Age reports.

One of the complaints filed said:

"M&M's is the most influential product on the market and needs to ensure the message that children receives is positive and assisting in their growth and development," the complainant said.

"When marketing a product the message should be about development of our children not showing them that the red M&M can dominate the rest of the group. Children will see this as a normal way of life as the M&Ms portray to them those they mix with at school."

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Comments (5)

Teaching that it is the behavior that is not good and that the outside packaging has nothing to do with it.

Assigning colors to behavior or people is an Idiot's Guide to Insanity

Posted by vivian | August 8, 2011 12:34 PM

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Wait a minute- they are expecting a CANDY company to show a message about "development of our children"???

I can't tell what that's telling me- that they trust any company to mold society, or that it's not anyone's responsibility to "development of our children" except for what the children come into contact with.

Posted by BenCh | August 8, 2011 12:51 PM

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Advertising Standards Bureau?

Thought Police?

And the decision took two months?

Posted by GaryF | August 8, 2011 1:04 PM

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Obviously the complainant sited in the quote hasn't seen this Capital One commercial. Here you have "real" human beings engaged in the same thing.

Personally I think the complainant has it all wrong anyway. Chances are this would encourage those being bullied to experiment with Voodoo for some revenge.

Posted by JackU | August 8, 2011 1:34 PM

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I totally disagree with the featured complaint, but I don't like the ad, either. There's so much crap out there in advertising and movies and tv that shows kids (and adults) that hurting people is (or at least, CAN be) funny. And I don't know if it's "art" imitating real life or the other way around, but there certainly are a lot of people (mostly guys) who play mean, hurtful tricks on others, thinking it's funny to do so.

Posted by Jamie | August 8, 2011 6:02 PM

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