Spongebob And Junk Food Have A Bizarre Connection, And Should We Worry?

Marketing has been a thing for quite some time. Back in 1934, Lou Gehrig became the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box. And even though he was on the back of the box, and not the front like our favorite sportspeople today, it was still noteworthy. While Wheaties remains true, most of the people you’ll see on products today are of the animated variety.

Yep — Spongebob, the Sesame Street gang, and even Scooby Doo are all advertising to your kids.

It’s very tempting to feel like these endorsements are ways for your kids to pressure you into buying sugary cereals and snacks. Heck, I got my daughter a toothbrush because it had Elmo on it. (Note, I would have gotten her one anyway, but figured her favorite giggly red Muppet may inspire her to actually use it.)

But it turns out that my thought process was actually wrong.

A new study just reported that it’s not characters like Spongebob who have kids going crazy over products. It’s more or less the product itself.

The April issue of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing published a study in which researchers worked closely with kids to see what attracted them to certain products.

If the product was the same, yet one had a character on it, kids chose the product with the character. Makes sense.

But if it’s between a bag of carrots with Spongebob on them and something more enticing, like a cookie, the kids will go towards the cookie.

That’s all due to their taste buds.

So really, character products might have an advantage over some things.

Like, Grover Grape may be more of a draw than standard old grape juice.

“The licensed character only has an influence on moving kids’ choices between foods with the same level of expected taste,” Margaret C. Campbell, a professor of marketing at the Leeds School of Business, said to CU Boulder Today.

If you think about it, it makes sense.

If you know you don’t have a taste for carrots, putting a beloved character on the label probably won’t change that. The character itself isn’t making them more enticing, flavor-wise.

Kids (and some adults, as well) also have big issues with texture.

So, that’s another reason why some of them avoid the healthy stuff at first, unless it’s sweetened or in a puree.

If you're faced with feeding a picky eater & you want to be accommodating, ask a parent "What can I make for them?" Often, we'll provide our own food for our picky eaters.
Also, some kids are picky because of texture issues or anxiety. It's not all just choice & habit. Be kind.

— Cadence Kuklinski, DO🫁♻️ (@CadenceDO) August 11, 2018

Even though there have been some vegetable packs with characters on them, they’re much more popular when put on cereal.

In fact, it’s hard to name a famous cartoon character who hasn’t, at one time, appeared on their own cereal box.

So, a Spongebob cereal will always win next to something like Kix. (Sorry, Kix. At least you’re parent-approved.)

And that’s based on two things.

One, the fact that Spongebob is on the front. And two, character cereals are typically flavored more like a dessert than anything else.

How fun does this look?

It’s possible that General Mills also figured that “fruit” will dupe parents into thinking it’s a healthy choice. (It’s not the worst thing for you, but there are healthier choices you can start your morning with.)

Perhaps that’s why Kix has released their own character version of cereal.

They happened to figure out that Paw Patrol is very popular with the younger crowd.

But what’s not popular? Standard, regular Kix without a flavor or character assignment. (Again — sorry, Kix.)

So, if you want your kids to try and eat more vegetables, you may want to see if there are any endorsed by their favorite television characters.

Then, offer them a choice between those and the standard.

But, you can’t blame their preference for sweets and snacks over carrots with characters on them. It’s just kids being kids and having a taste for sugary food.

The most interesting part about these findings? They may make a few new proposals in the U.K. a bit useless.

Last year, they tried to ban cartoon characters from snacks and junk food, since they felt like their presence was encouraging kids to eat poorly.

Still. Taste buds aside, it’s also important to remember that parents are the ones paying for this stuff.

And even though nobody likes a grocery store tantrum, sometimes that’s the tough part of parenting.