Last update: May 22, 2005 at 7:21 PM

Thomas Lee,  Star Tribune

Shrek may be a big green ogre with a soft heart, but to hear Sen. Tom Harkin describe him, the character might as well be the bogeyman.

"Shrek says yes, Mom says no," the Iowa Democrat said in an interview. "Dad says fruit, Shrek says candy. ... I want to know about Shrek. Does Shrek want you to eat [junk food]? Because he is going to be a bad guy if he doesn't shape up."

Harkin accuses General Mills and other food manufacturers of using Shrek and other cartoon characters to encourage children to eat unhealthy foods. Last week, he introduced legislation that would give the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture authority to regulate the way food companies market food to children.

Passage of the proposal might be a long shot. Nevertheless, food companies find themselves under unprecedented pressure to curb their marketing practices toward children just as retailers are stocking up on "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" Pop-Tarts and cereals from Kellogg Co. and "Madagascar"-branded pizza and cookies from General Mills.

While government officials and consumers groups have long complained that food manufacturers are bombarding kids with ads touting sugar-laden foods, public concern over obesity is pushing lawmakers -- and some companies -- to act.

"The call for change is inevitable," said James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, a marketing firm in Belmont, Mass. "It's such an easy issue to push politically. But consumer behavior has shifted for the first time in history. The smart companies will get ahead of the curve and learn how to reformulate their products and adjust their marketing."

In January, Kraft Foods Inc. said it would no longer advertise Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, several Post cereals, and Kool-Aid to children under 12 years old. The company also introduced its Sensible Solutions labels meant to highlight more nutritious Kraft products in several categories.

Last year, General Mills said it would convert all of its cereals to whole grains. Kellogg Co. and General Mills launched kid cereals that contain less sugar, though nutritionists have noted they contain the same amount of calories.

At the same time, food companies fiercely defend their right to advertise to children.

"Like all consumer industries, we compete on consumer-driven innovation and then by communicating to consumers benefits from our innovation," Ken Powell, General Mills executive vice president, told the Institute of Medicine Committee on Food Marketing and the Diets of Children and Youth in March. "Advertising is a crucial part of delivering innovation to our consumers."

General Mills, Kellogg, and Kraft recently formed the Alliance for American Advertising, a lobbying group to fight government regulation of their ad practices.

If Congress tries to restrict advertising, the industry will probably challenge it in court by arguing truthful speech is protected under the Constitution, said Doug Wood, chairman of the advertising marketing group at Reed Smith law firm in New York.

Though Wood opposes government regulation, "Congress has the public policy issue on its side," he said.

Kid marketing is big business. Annual sales of foods and beverages to young consumers topped $27 billion in 2002, according to an Institute of Medicine report. Food and beverage companies spend about $10 billion to $12 billion a year to reach children.

For the first nine months of last year, General Mills spent about $196 million on cereal advertising, according to a research report by Prudential Securities.

"Frequent cereal consumption is associated with healthier body weights of all ages," Powell said. "We advertise to help consumers to understand the benefits."

Kids' cereals such as Trix and Cinnamon Toast Crunch make up nearly 40 percent of General Mills' Big G cereal division, which generated $7.6 billion in U.S. retail sales in fiscal 2004.

Marketing to children is "very vital" to these companies, said Dave Siegel, president of WonderGroup, a youth marketing agency in Cincinnati whose clients include General Mills, Kellogg, Quaker Oats and Smucker. "There is a lot of money and sales that comes out of kids products."

Cable channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network and movie studios also earn big bucks from selling advertising time and licensing deals to food manufacturers.

When it comes to movies, Kellogg and General Mills have aggressively targeted children. Last year, Kellogg was a promotional backer of "Spider-Man 2" and "The Incredibles." General Mills partnered with "Shrek 2" and "Shark Tale."

The two companies have licensing deals that allow them to brand the movie across their entire product portfolios. For instance, General Mills will feature the cartoon feature "Madagascar" on Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Big G cereals, Pop Secret popcorn, Yoplait yogurt, and Totino's pizza. The company will also launch a multimillion-dollar TV, radio, in-store, and Internet campaign.

Adapting to a changing market and heading off government intervention has placed food companies in a quandary.

"There's not a company that doesn't want to develop healthy products," Siegel of WonderGroup said. "But they don't know how to get the kid to eat it."

That's why companies turn to sweeteners and friendly characters like Shrek and SpongeBob Square Pants.

But Harkin remains unimpressed.

"You don't see Shrek telling kids to eat apples," he said. "Parents and consumers demand something be done. It may not happen tomorrow, but it will happen sooner or later."

Thomas Lee is at tlee@startribune.com.