A shoe company is targeting young girls with some controversial advertising and many parents have taken notice.

The Parents Television Council said the Sketchers brand is trying to sell its Shape-up brand to pre-teen girls.

Girls as young as 8-years-old are being told this product will help tone their rear-ends and thighs, the group said.

Sketchers does not does not make Shape-ups in styles for boys.

Leonard Armato, president of Sketchers Fitness Group, told the New York Daily News that his company is trying to send a positive message about fitness.

"The whole message behind Shape-ups is to get moving, get exercise, and get fit," he told the Daily News in a statement.

"This is the same messaging being used by the First Lady's 'Let's Move' initiative, which is aimed specifically at children."

How should parents respond to the sexualization of children? Dan Isett, director of public policy for the Parents Television Council, discussed this and the Sketchers advertising, on CBN News Channel Morning News, May 13.