Yeah, it’s a cereal thing.
Lidl is to remove cartoon characters from its own-brand cereal ranges to help parents resist pester power and tackle Britain’s growing childhood obesity crisis.
The discount retailer, which has almost 800 UK stores, pledged to remove cartoon characters from eight of its cereal ranges by spring.
Animated crocodiles, bees, tigers and monkeys brandished on the front boxes will be removed when the measures are implemented this spring.
However, bright colour schemes, including images of rainbows, will remain on the packaging.
More from The Mail:
Lidl’s Crownfield Choco Rice, its own-brand of Coco Pops, is crammed with 16g of sugar in one tiny 30g serving – not even a third of a bowl.
A 60g serving, which is a more realistic-sized portion, has 32g of sugar – more than three Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts.
The budget supermarket’s Crownfield Choco Shells, a discounted version of Kellogg’s Coco Rocks, are crammed with 18g of sugar in a 50g portion.
‘Children who throw tantrums in the shopping aisle when they fail to get the packet they want are the scourge of parents.
‘It may matter little what is actually inside the packet: it’s most likely the colourful and attractive cartoon animal on the outside that triggers their desire.
‘Remove the cartoons and kill off pester power at a stroke is the prayer of untold millions of mums. That Lidl is answering that prayer should be warmly welcomed.’
I wonder if Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam and Snap/Crackle/Pop are still safe in the UK…
Note that advertising to children is illegal in Quebec, or, at least, it was when I lived on the border 20 years ago. A cookie company had to withdraw a TV commercial that showed cookies lining up to go off a divingboard into a glass of milk because it was judged to be a direct appeal to kids.
The law was, of course, good news to TV stations just south of the border …