This picture is a composite of Ms. Harris speaking about “healthy messages” at the NGA meeting and a screen shot of a Juicy Fruit commercial that ran on C1N shortly after that meeting. We added the words that seem like something she would say.
Days after Judy Harris, Channel One’s CEO and president, appeared before the nation’s governors telling them that Channel One was committed to sending healthy messages to schoolchildren, Channel One News began airing a new ad campaign aimed at increasing sugared gum sales to teens and preteens. Since gum is considered a food of “minimum nutritional value” and advertising such a product is extremely controversial, Ms. Harris would have to had to approve the campaign.
Juicy Fruit had been off Channel One for months. Gum ads are particularly offensive to school teachers because virtually no school allows gum chewing in class and few permit its use on school grounds.
Schools are encouraging students to have healthier lifestyles. Teachers are trying to encourage students to eat more healthy foods and to consume less sweets. Channel One News has different ideas. In January, Ms. Harris approved Pepsi’s sponsorship of a DoSomething.com commercial. That shocked many teachers.
Now she has approved new Juicy Fruit commercials. One commercial is truly bizarre featuring a giant ant as a pet. Both the “pet” ant and human in the ad seriously desire the sugar in Juicy Fruit. The subtext of the commercial (we’ll have the video in several weeks) is that a child should not deny themselves when they crave sugar. “Give in. Sugar is good. When you need sugar, chew Juicy Fruit gum. It is all sugar and sugar is good for you. Your school is showing you this ad for Juicy Fruit. They wouldn’t show you an ad for something bad, would they? Put more sugar in your life. If you don’t chew gum, why not start?”
Above: Man is pulled down hole by Juicy Fruit-crazed “pet” ant.
