TV & VIDEO - Oct. 12, 1988

Beware the Couch Potato! That’s the message ABC and CBS will be broadcasting in an animated public service announcement in which two children become “couch potatoes” while watching TV for too long. The 30-second cartoon is being offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics and is the first such spot the academy has fashioned. “It says be choosy in what you watch, and we think it’s good for children to be choosy in what they watch,” said CBS Broadcast Group executive Matthew Margo. The announcement tells children to “avoid this dread disease (couch potato-ism), be choosy in what you watch. Don’t just plop in front of the TV ‘cause you’ve got nothing else to do.”