Star Wars Is Bad For Kids

[Sprayber]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050524/bs_usatoday/groupasksburgerkingtohaltstarwarsdeal

Or at least ROTS is

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY Tue May 24, 6:21 AM ET

The Force may - or may not - be with Burger King's latest Star Wars-themed Kids Meals.
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One day after a record-shattering weekend for Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, an advocacy group is asking Burger King to stop the tie-in of its Kids Meals with the film because it is rated PG-13.

The same group, Dove Foundation, got McDonald's 13 years ago to apologize for "confusion" from its promotion of PG-13 Batman Returns with Happy Meals. Now, it's going after BK's latest Kids Meal promotion - targeted at kids ages 4 to 9. The meals feature characters from Sith or other Star Wars films.

"When Burger King puts that in a Kids Meal, there's an implicit endorsement of the movie," says Dick Rolfe, chairman of Dove Foundation.

This is no small matter. Product licensing and promotion is a $100 million annual business. Since the first Star Wars was released in 1977, the six films have racked up almost $9 billion in merchandise sales and product promotions.

For Burger King, the stakes are huge. The No. 2 burger chain is in the 16th month of a major rebound. The Star Wars promotion, dubbed "Choose Your Destiny," is the 50-year-old chain's first global promotion.

Burger King officials insist the promotion isn't specific to the latest film (the others are rated PG), but one that relates to the chain's long-term relationship with the Star Wars franchise. Executives point out that only four of the 31 Kids Meal toys are specific to Sith.

The toys "clearly celebrate not just one film but the entire Star Wars saga," says Edna Johnson, a Burger King spokeswoman. "The reception at our restaurants and from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive."

But Rolfe says "the tie-in is very specific to this film." Wrappers around Kids Meal toys all promote Sith, he notes.

Dove Foundation, a non-sectarian family advocacy group, sent an overnight letter to Burger King last Thursday requesting the promotion be stopped. It also conducted a national phone survey of 889 adults and says 83% felt the promotion was not appropriate for kids.

Another critic says the fault isn't that of Burger King but Star Wars creator George Lucas. "It's irresponsible of George Lucas to OK the marketing around this PG-13 movie to young children," says Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist and author of Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood.

"Star Wars is broader than a single movie," says Lynn Fox, a LucasFilm spokeswoman. "Parents know that Star Wars has been a positive influence."

[The Emperor Fabulous]

I'd throw up if I cared...

I do laugh at the 83 percent, however...I wonder what numbers the Dove Foundation had on hand to call...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

You know, when Demolition Man came out, the producers couldn't get any of the big fast food chains to offer tie-ins because the film was rated R. They had to go to a then-largely-unheard-of chain that was looking to expand its visibility: Taco Bell. As a thank-you for signing on, the filmmakers created a throw-away back-story involving the "Fast Food Wars," from which Taco Bell emerged as only fast food left in the world.

Say, Mr. Lucas, I have an idea for the expanded dvd version...

[Imran Siddiqui]

"It's irresponsible of George Lucas to OK the marketing around this PG-13 movie to young children,"

What? I've seen the Burger King commericals and they seem to be marketed to young adults. This also is the same way for Pepsi commericials about the movie. The Kids who get the Kid's Meal are just interested in the toy anyway. I don't think the toy is PG-13, is it?

And besides, PG-13 means that kids CAN see it, but parents are warned. Maybe we should let parents be parents, eh?

As a thank-you for signing on, the filmmakers created a throw-away back-story involving the "Fast Food Wars," from which Taco Bell emerged as only fast food left in the world.

That was the best part ! Stallone saying that he wouldn't mind a burrito was great .

[GePap]

Who are these people, and why should we care?

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by GePap
Who are these people, and why should we care?

[DRoseDARs]

Right, like it's Burger King's responsibility to make sure children under the age of 13 don't see this movie without parental supervision.

I f*cking hate these kinds of people. If you're so worried about the children, don't have any and kill the ones you've got. Problem solved.

[Sprayber]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
Right, like it's Burger King's responsibility to make sure children under the age of 13 don't see this movie without parental supervision.

I f*cking hate these kinds of people. If you're so worried about the children, don't have any and kill the ones you've got. Problem solved.

I'm thinking a kid under 13 shouldnt see any movie without an adult being there.

[DRoseDARs]

Responsible parents

Parents spending more time b*tching about the "failures" of other parties than they spend with their own children

[Winston]

Food and toys in general should have nothing to do with each other to begin with.

[Pyrodrew]

Some more parent groups b!tching...

Burger chain Carl's Jr. tells watchdog group infuriated over scantily clad soap-up to 'get a life.'

"Carl's Jr.'s message to the PTC: "Get a life." "This isn't Janet Jackson -- there is no nipple in this," said Andy Puzder, the CEO of Carl's Jr., a subsidiary of CKE Restaurants (Research). "There is no nudity, there is no sex acts -- It's a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car."
...
But the PTC says it has a problem with the context and the content of the ad, not the personalities involved.

Caldwell says that because the ad is airing during sports programs, and FOX's "OC", which are heavily watched by teens, it promotes sexuality to an audience that might not be ready for it. "It's difficult to gauge how children are going to react to this," Caldwell said.

The "OC" doesn't promote sexuality?
And I'm sure a young fit cheerleader in a skimpy outfit jumping and giggling won't impact any teenage boy....

I'm not a fan of PH and haven't had a Carl'sJr for months, but I'll side with her before PTC on this.

[Dis]

Last Action Hero was rated PG-13, and that had a fast food tie in.

In any case on Ebert and Roeper they said the movie really shouldn't be PG-13 anyways. There's no nudity, no bad language, no drug use. Just some cartoonish violence.

[Dis]

makes you wonder though. When kids play with toys, the actions those action figures are taking would be rated R or NC17 if it were in a movie.

I think we need to restrict what games kids play with their action figures. That includes no limbs being blown off etc.

[Urban Ranger]

"Star Wars is broader than a single movie," says Lynn Fox, a LucasFilm spokeswoman. "Parents know that Star Wars has been a positive influence."

Hm, and what may that be?

[Kuciwalker]

But Rolfe says "the tie-in is very specific to this film." Wrappers around Kids Meal toys all promote Sith, he notes.

OMG they're trying to turn teh little kids into teh SITHS!!!!11111