Why Makers of "Processed Crap" Could Regret Advertising on Jamie Oliver's New Show

Among the advertisers on Friday night's episode of ABC's "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," which stars a chef who denounces typical American meals as "processed crap," were several manufacturers of none other than "processed crap." Despite the fact that advertisers on the two-hour show reached an impressive 7.5 million viewers, second only to CBS' NCAA coverage, this hardly seems like money well spent.

Jamie Oliver is a celebrity chef who helped overhaul school lunches in the UK and now wants to change the way American kids eat. The show tracks his efforts to change eating habits at a West Virginia elementary school and in a few selected families.

Here's the issue. While Oliver probably wouldn't toss Green Giant frozen vegetables out of anyone's freezer, Green Giant is owned by General Mills (GIS), which also makes Betty Crocker cake mixes, Boo Berry and Cocoa Puffs cereals, Pillsbury Toaster Strudels, Totino's Pizza Rolls and Hamburger Helper. That's to name just a few of the products that likely won't receive invitations to Oliver's revolution.

Similarly, the Naked Chef might not banish Ragu pasta sauce, which is made with a small number of simple ingredients and, as the commercial proclaims, has a "full serving of veggies in every half a cup." But Ragu is owned by Unilever, the proud maker of Klondike Bars and Popsicles.

It's up for debate as to how Oliver would react to a kitchen cabinet stocked with cans of Del Monte fruit, not only because the fruits are canned but because they often swim in sugar. But it's completely baffling why the people at Chex Mix, which is owned by General Mills and advertises on the show's web site, and Diet Snapple, which is made with artificial sweetener aspartame, thought their products would be a good fit for the show. Maybe they forgot to watch the preview episode. Or perhaps the Snapple folks think that their marketing catchphrase -- the "best diet stuff on Earth" -- actually means something.

The upshot is that food companies, in their ongoing efforts to be part of the healthy-eating solution and not left out in the cold, are grasping at straws. Of course, most consumers don't know or care who makes what food brand, so there's no harm in the short term. But the underlying message of Oliver's agenda -- cook your own food and stop buying so much of the processed crap that's killing your children -- is at total odds with the interests of just about every major food company. Make no mistake, he's no Michelle Obama.

Sorry to be cynical here, but food companies don't want you to cook your own food from scratch. If you did, visits to fast food and chain restaurants would plummet, as would supermarket sales of processed food. These are multi-million brands and advertising on a successful prime time reality show is the name of the game. But hooking up with Jamie Oliver, assuming he sticks to his bold vision of how Americans should change their eating habits, seems like a partnership that's only going to end in bitter divorce.

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