Cooney proposed that public television, even though it had a poor track record in attracting inner-city audiences,[30] could be used to improve the quality of children's programming. She suggested using the television medium's "most engaging traits",[31] including high production values, sophisticated writing, and quality film and animation, to reach the largest audience possible. In the words of critic Peter Hellman, "If [children] could recite Budweiser jingles from TV, why not give them a program that would teach the ABCs and simple number concepts?"[4] Cooney wanted to create a program that would spread values favoring education to nonviewers—including their parents and older siblings, who tended to control the television set.[32] To this end, she suggested that humor directed toward adults be included,[33] which, as Lesser reported, "may turn out to be a pretty good system in forcing the young child to stretch to understand programs designed for older audiences".[34] Cooney also believed cultural references and guest appearances by celebrities would encourage parents and older siblings to watch the show together.[24]