PTC’s Annual Best/Worst Advertisers List: Charmin Good, Quilted Northern Bad, Walmart Awesome!

The Parents Television Council is here to help you shop responsibly

Most people buy toilet paper based on factors such as softness, durability and price. But if you need the Parents Television Council’s blessing to wipe your conscience clean, you’re in luck.

The watchdog group released its annual Best and Worst TV Advertisers List on Thursday, putting things in flip mode by ranking advertisers by brand category instead of the usual corporate-parent rankings.

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PTC assembled its list based on each company’s primetime broadcast television ad buys during the 2012-2013 television season, in conjunction with the PTC’s 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 consideration was given to advertisers that demonstrated a corporate commitment to sponsor family-friendly programming.

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Fast-food giant McDonalds made a particularly poor showing, while Walmart had the “most inspiring corporate performance,” with “the best score across all categories,” PTC president Tim Winter said in a release Thursday.

And if you’re hitting up the TP aisle of your local supermarket, you’d better pick up the Charmin, because Quilted Northern just isn’t cutting it in the PTC’s eyes.

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“This year’s analysis should provide greater clarity for those members of the public who wish to ‘vote with their wallets’ and have a direct impact in support of family entertainment,” Winter said. “Those who are concerned about the effect that harmful media content has on children can play their part in supporting the ‘good’ sponsors and avoiding the ‘bad’ sponsors based on individual products.”

Read the list below.

Wireless Providers
BEST: Sprint
WORST: AT&T, Verizon

Banks
BEST: TD Bank, Chase
WORST: Wells Fargo, Bank of America

General Retail
BEST: Walmart, Sears
WORST: JC Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Target

Clothing Retail
BEST: Famous Footwear, H&M
WORST: Old Navy/Gap, Burlington Coat Factory

Fast Food Restaurants
BEST: Dunkin Donuts, Dominos Pizza, Wendy’s, Arby’s
WORST: McDonalds, Subway, Taco Bell

Restaurants
BEST: Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel
WORST: TGI Friday’s, Red Robin

Beverages

Sub-Category: Fruit Juice
BEST: Ocean Spray, Motts Apple
WORST: Welch’s

Sub-Category: Coffee/Tea
BEST: Folgers Coffee
WORST: Lipton Tea, Nespresso

Sub-Category: Soft Drink
BEST: Coca Cola, Diet Coke
WORST: Diet Pepsi, Dr. Pepper

Personal Items/Groceries

Sub-Category: Toilet Paper
BEST: Charmin
WORST: Quilted Northern

Sub-Category: Paper Towels
BEST: Bounty
WORST: Brawny

Sub-Category: Toothpaste
BEST: Crest, Colgate
WORST: Aquafresh

Sub-Category: Mouthwash
BEST: Act Mouthwash
WORST: Listerine

Cosmetics/Hair Care
BEST: Pantene, Estee Lauder
WORST: Maybelline, L’Oreal

Automobiles
BEST: Chevrolet
WORST: Honda

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