Suing SpongeBob: For Real, Or For Leverage?

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With last week’s threat by two consumer advocacy groups to sue Kellogg and Viacom for marketing unhealthful food to children, industry experts said the real question is whether the talk of lawsuits is merely a negotiating tactic or a sign that this debate is finally heading to the courts.

The pressure comes just as an article published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine last Thursday shows how the legal strategies employed in the tobacco cases could be used against food and beverage companies to combat obesity.

Parties on both sides of the debate will have an opportunity this week to hash out their differences at the Association of National Advertisers’ annual law and business affairs conference.



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