Just in time for the holiday shopping season, the Parents Television Council released its annual “Best and Worst TV Advertisers” list. Among the best were Ford, Procter & Gamble, Wendy’s and Wal-Mart, who all showed a consistent commitment to sponsoring positive, family-friendly programs throughout the year. Among the worst were Toyota, Sprint, Target, and McDonald’s.
Companies were ranked based on the content in the television shows they chose to underwrite with their ad dollars. “Best” companies primarily sponsored programs with positive, family-friendly themes while advertisers that earned the “worst” label commonly appeared on shows that included harsh language, violence and sexual content.
The list is based on each company’s prime time broadcast television ad buys during the 2011-2012 television season. Using PTC’s trademarked traffic light ratings system, each company was assigned a point value based on the number of green, yellow and red light shows it sponsored. Special weight was assigned to advertisers that demonstrated a corporate commitment to sponsor family-friendly programming.
Best:
1. Ford
2. Procter & Gamble (Pampers, Tide, Crest, Downy, Febreze)
3. General Mills (Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Pillsbury, Old El Paso)
4. Nissan
5. Wal-Mart
6. Clorox
7. CVS
8. Brinker International (Chili’s, Maggiano’s)
9. Wendy’s
10. SC Johnson and Coca-Cola (tied)
Worst:
1. Yum!
2. Toyota
3. Metro PCS
4. Sprint
5. Red Bull
6. Target
7. McDonald’s
8. CKE Restaurant (Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s)
9. PepsiCo
10. Apple
