Jon Lovitz is a comedian. Apparently, so is Channel One’s CEO Judy Harris.
It has to be a joke, right? Why else is comedian Jon Lovitz on the classroom TV screen? Channel One’s approval of this latest Subway ad wouldn’t make sense unless it was all a dirty joke played on students.
At the first of this 2005-06 school year, Channel One ran a Subway commercial for a Chicken Parmesan sandwich.
The commercials for the high-calorie sandwich came right before segments called One Step To A Better Me. This feature was meant to promote healthier eating and exercise. The question that sprung to everyone’s mind was: Why promote a 1000+ calorie sandwich to students?
There were at the time a number of Subway commercials available for showing on Channel One. Obligation believes no TV commercials are appropriate for any classroom. Ones for high-fat, high-calorie food products are every more inappropriate with the childhood obesity crisis getting worse.
Obligation complained. Channel One News did not reply to us directly. They did have a comeback, however. They ran new ads for an even higher-calorie sandwich. As if to tell the world that they can advertise anything they want to, Channel One’s top brass approved a Subway commercial for the 12″ Chicken and Bacon Ranch sandwich.
As incredible as it sounds, after hearing complaints about the 1,020 calorie, 36 fat gram, 12″ Chicken Parmesan sandwich, Channel One airs ads for a 1,060-calorie sandwich with 50 grams of fat.
Take that, kids. Channel One News is playing hardball.
Surely, Channel One executives knew what they were doing was not just irresponsible, but it was downright mean. Not only were students being encouraged to eat the most calorie-dense sandwiches on Subway’s menu, but Channel One News was allowing the advertising of the 12″ version of the sandwiches, not the 6″.
We complained again and again Channel One’ CEO, Judy Harris, was apparently unmoved. This April, Channel One revealed a new Subway ad campaign aimed at preteens and teens. Students were introduced to Subway’s “Italian Trio” which consists of the Chicken Parmesan, the Meatball Marinara and the Italian B.M.T. sandwiches. (Watch for yourself: Subway Italian Trio on Channel One News.)
The Italian B. M. T. is 900 calories and 42 fat grams. The 12″ Meatball Marinara weighs in at 1,120 calories with 48 grams of fat. It is Subway’s highest calorie sandwich.
This has to be a joke. Subway, known for their low-fat sandwiches is advertising their most fattening menu items to a captive audience of young people struggling with their weight. Subway obviously wanted these ads to run instead of ads for their low-fat items, but why didn’t Channel One officials say “No” to these irresponsible ads? Why didn’t anyone at Channel One stand up for the children? Advertisers are Channel One’s clients: not schoolchildren. Channel One will serve their client. After all, the client has the money and Channel One needs money more than ever.
It has to be a joke because they are now using comedian Jon Lovitz to pitch these mega-calorie sandwiches to kids. Obligation sees nothing funny about these ads. We see nothing funny about Judy Harris and her band of executives making money off these ads. They may be laughing on the way to the bank but they are alienating parents, teachers and students with this type of irresponsible commercial content.
Below you see the three 12″ sandwiches in all their caloric glory just as they appeared on classroom TV sets. (The nutrition chart below is for 6″ sandwiches so you have to double everything because Channel One is specifically advertising the 12″ ones.)
 |
This is cruel. Students start off seeing these three steaming sandwiches overloaded with cheese. |
 |
You can’t see it here, but the cheese is bubbling. These images are chosen for maximum impact on hungry viewers. |
 |
If students weren’t hungry before this commercial, they will be by its end. |
 |
Students can almost smell the garlic bread through their ancient Channel One TV sets. |
 |
Who is ready to overeat at the cafeteria now? Why did Channel One not demand Subway advertiser low-fat sandwiches instead of these calorie bombs? |
