Not so 'grrrrrrt' marketing

I have to credit Kerri at Six Until Me for this one. Directly. But it's worth re-posting. Here's her blog.

Tony the Tiger has died. A result of diabetic complications.

Apparently, some may think this is clever marketing. Wrong. These marketing folk need to be fired.

First, there's this story about Santa Clause being diagnosed with Type 2. A quote that ran has the red-suit clad Clause saying: "I want to beat my diabetes and get my weight under control without popping pills," Santa said. "And it's just too risky to take insulin injections when my reindeer tote my sleigh across the sky."
"Besides, if I become dependent on drugs and insulin injections, what message does that send to all the children?"

Wow. That's just a wonderful, wonderful message to send out to kids facing this disease. No, I'm not even talking about the children facing Type 1, where insulin is a must-have to even live.

Secondly, we have this story about Tony the Tiger dying from diabetic complications. Another wonder-marketing idea for the kids.

Any sense of reality and common sense apparently faded when parents threatened to sue Tony and Kellog over the tiger's Frosted Flakes consumption, since it somehow attributed to their child's obesity and subsequent laziness and bad health later in life. No wonder - these are probably the same parents griping that their kids scraped knees at recess, or got hit with the ball during dodgeball because they were too lazy to - you know - DODGE the rubber ball flying at them. These parents come from the same ilk that have gotten tag banned at schoolyards, and didn't want their children held accountable for a no-no by being made to stand against the wall while others played.

No, they have to gripe and whine. These are also the same people who, years back, used to say to Type I children: "You wouldn't be diabetic if you're parents had fed you better and your diet was healthier."

Get a clue. Please. Or just don't open your mouths. As if it's anyone's fault, a child's or a parent's, that a pancreas chooses to shut down and insulin-making cells just stop making insulin. The guilt and shame just add a whole new wonderful dimension to childhood.