An advocacy group is asking the Federal Communications Commission to block a TV cartoon show starring characters first created to market Skechers footwear to children. The Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood targeted the series called “Zevo-3” that's scheduled to premiere Oct. 11 on Nicktoons. Its three teenage, superheroes have previously appeared in comic books and TV ads promoting Skechers' line of children's shoes.
Unless banned, the group said, the show could pave the way for Ronald McDonald, Tony the Tiger and other iconic cartoon pitchmen to become stars of their own series — potentially inundating children's television with what amounted to full-length commercials, according to an article in the Associated Press.
The main characters “are walking and talking advertisements for specific lines of Skechers shoes,” said the complaint. It depicted “Zevo-3” as “the first children's television program starring characters that are known to children only as commercial logos and spokescharacters.”
Specifically, the complaint said the half-hour show would violate a federal requirement in the Children's Television Act that that no cable TV operator shall air more than 12 minutes of commercial matter per hour during children's programming. The show also would violate the FCC's requirement of a clear separation between commercial content and programming matter, the complaint said.
Kristen Van Cott, co-executive producer of “Zevo-3” and a senior vice president of Skechers Entertainment, said in a statement released to the AP that she and her colleagues had worked hard to ensure the show conforms with FCC provisions. She said there are no overt pitches for Skechers' products in the cartoons and the plot lines “often reflect issues that kids deal with on a daily basis — from peer pressure and bullying to relationships with family and friends.”
“Skechers Entertainment is tremendously proud of 'Zevo-3,'” she said. “It's a fun, action-packed and beautifully animated series.”
