One Step Forward, One Step Back

October 13, 2005

Subway has a delicious deal with Channel One News. Subway will buy regular ad time on the show and Channel One will mix Subway promotions into the “news” part of the program.

Channel One is not suppose to do that. They are not to have sponsored segments of their show, but they have been fudging on their contract for years. (Think about Ford Motor Co. paying for a news story on NBC Nightly News.)

Subway is paying for a feature called “One Step to a Better Me” you can see it when you play the clip below that has been running for several weeks.

The content of the “Breakfast is Important” segment with “Nutritionist to the Stars” Carrie Wiatt is nothing teachers could not have told students in a much more effective and much less expensive way. This is what parents have been saying for years.

Notice the commercial that Channel One runs right before the “One Step” feature. It’s an ad for a new Subway sandwich which is one of the highest calorie ones on their menu. This is immediately before the “One Step to a Better Me.”

The New Chicken Parmesan sandwich is a laughable choice to run before Channel One’s weak attempt to promote better eating habits. This sandwich is not one of Subway’s “Under 6 grams of fat” sandwiches. It’s one of their worst sandwiches when it comes to calories and fat. One 6″ sandwich contains 510 calories and 19 grams of fat. There are only two sandwiches on the menu with more calories.

What makes Channel One’s joke on kids even meaner is that the commercial shows a steaming hot 12″ sandwich. Double everything. Why would they do that?

Nutrition information from Subway.com.

Obligation’s Jim Metrock said, “The commercial for the mega-calorie sandwich trumps the lady standing in a kitchen lecturing students on breakfast. The vision of that huge steaming sandwich and all that cheese will be what students remember when they go to Subway. That is why Subway, or any advertiser, pays millions of dollars to create effective commercials. The irony is Subway is known for providing lower-calorie, low -fat offerings. I go there myself often. To advertise this calorie-bomb sandwich to students, when you didn’t have to do that, raising a lot of questions about Channel One’s commitment to move away from unhealthy product advertising. Channel One’s CEO Judy Harris again has shown a flagrant disregard for the captive audience that pays her salary. If this is Ms. Harris’ idea of a joke, then shame on her.”

See what the students see: This is one continuous clip. The ad for the sandwich is shown, then the Channel One anchor introduces the Subway-sponsored feature.

Thanks to Ken
McNatt
.

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