The Parents Television Council has unveiled the best and worst holiday advertisements for the upcoming season.
The annual list reveals which ads are safe for families and which ones run during explicit TV programs.
What they’re saying: PTC President Tim Winter said: “Advertisers are the lifeblood of TV programs, and the kind of content they sponsor matters greatly. Our recent research has shown TV programs are getting more violent and have increased profanity, which is extremely concerning to families. Advertisers have the power to change TV for the better and reverse these trends. Those advertisers on our Best List are sponsoring programming that is generally safe for kids and families to watch. Advertisers on our Worst List need to improve their TV ad buys.”
PTC Program Director Melissa Henson said: “We applaud these companies for supporting families, and we want to show our support in return,” she said. “Of note, Wendy’s is on our Best List after being on our Worst List for a number of years. Verizon is a new addition to our Best List. Congratulations to those companies and to the others made it onto our Best List. We hope they serve as examples to those on our Worst List that improvements can and should be made to their ad purchases.”
Cars:
- Best: Ford, General Motors, Chrysler
- Worst: Subaru, Toyota, Nissan
Fast food:
- Best: Dairy Queen, Wendy’s
- Worst: Yum! Brands (like KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), Subway
Discount retail stores:
- Best: Walmart
- Worst: Target
Clothing stores:
- Best: TJX, Jos. A. Bank
- Worst: Kohl’s, Limited Brands (like Victoria’s Secret)
Electronics stores:
- Best: Apple, Google
- Worst: Microsoft, Samsung
Food and beverage:
- Best: Coca-Cola, Smuckers
- Worst: Pepsi, Mars (like M&M candy, Orbit gum)
Telecommunications:
- Best: Verizon
- Worst: T-Mobile
Consumer products:
- Best: Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Olay, Pantene
- Worst: Axe, Degree, Lipton
Insurance:
- Best: State Farm
- Worst: Geico