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Summer 2007 Bulletin
Food Advertisers Phase out Marketing to Kids after Agencies, Lawmakers Suggest Government Regulations
Pressure from Washington D.C. over their role in contributing to obesity in children has driven food companies to create new, stricter rules on advertising.
On July 18, 2007, the same day the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held an event to address the progress the food industry has made on calls for more responsible advertising schemes aimed at children, 11 of the nation’s biggest food and drink companies announced the adoption of new rules, organized through the Council of Better Business Bureaus, that limit advertising to children under the age of 12.
In May, Broadcasting & Cable magazine reported that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin had suggested that the FCC may consider restrictions on television food advertisements to children if a government and industry task force could not create sufficient industry-imposed regulation.
The May 14, 2007 Broadcasting & Cable story said that Martin’s comments came from a letter to House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Markey has proposed that television shows that air “junk food” ads be disqualified from meeting the FCC-imposed three-hour weekly educational programming minimum.
The Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity, formed in September 2006, includes Martin and two other FCC commissioners, two U.S. senators and 35 representatives from advertising, food, and television companies, research and public policy groups and U.S. universities. (A full list of participants can be found at http://www.fcc.gov/obesity/participants.html.)
On July 5, the task force announced that the deadline for issuing its recommendations, originally scheduled to be released in summer 2007, has been extended into the fall. According to Broadcasting & Cable, Martin wrote in his letter to Markey that the FCC would wait until the task force released its recommendations before it considered regulation.
Markey responded in a statement saying the FCC should not wait, according to Broadcasting & Cable. “I continue to believe that the Commission should begin the process of developing a public record on problematic food advertising to children. By starting such a proceeding now, the Commission can assure the public that it is developing an adequate, and timely, policy response to an important health issue,” Markey wrote.
The food companies appear to have decided not to wait for task force recommendations or government regulations or restrictions. The self-imposed rules should be fully implemented by the end of 2008 and differ widely from company to company, according to the Associated Press (AP).
For example, McDonald’s USA said it will only market two types of Happy Meal to children under 12: a four-piece Chicken McNuggets meal with apples, caramel dip and low-fat milk, and a meal with a hamburger, apples, dip, and milk. General Mills will now only market products with fewer than 12 grams of sugar to children under 12. According to the AP, in 2005 General Mills limited its use of licensed cartoon, movie and television characters in advertising. Spokeswoman Christina Shea told The Washington (D.C.) Times that under the new rules, General Mills will begin using the SpongeBob cartoon only on packaging for frozen vegetables.
The AP also reported that seven companies now pledge not to use licensed characters unless they are marketing “better for you” products. PepsiCo, which sells Pepsi, Tropicana, Aquafina, and Gatorade and owns Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods, said it will market only Gatorade and Baked Cheetos Cheese Flavored Snacks to children.
A list of the eleven companies and their pledges may be found at the Council of Better Business Bureaus Web Site at http://www.cbbb.org/initiative/pledges.asp.
The Kellogg Company announced a month before the 11 other companies, on June 13, 2007, that it would self-impose similar rules. According to The New York Times, the maker of popular breakfast cereals like Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and Rice Krispies said it would stop marketing products to children under 12 and stop using licensed characters or branded toys unless the products met nutritional guidelines for calories, sugar, fat and sodium. According to The New York Times, Kellogg President and Chief Executive David Mackay said that products that did not meet the company guidelines would either be reformulated or no longer be marketed to children.
According to The Washington Times, FTC officials at the July 18 event said that they were pleased with the companies’ announcements, but would continue to watch the marketing practices of the food industry.
“Responsible, industry-generated action and effective self-regulation are critical to addressing the national problem of childhood obesity,” FTC Chairman Deborah Majoras said. “The FTC plans to monitor industry efforts closely, and we expect to see real improvements.”
On August 9, the Advertising Age magazine Web site reported that the FTC issued subpoenas to 44 food marketers, including McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. The subpoenas require that the marketers provide detailed information on their various strategies for marketing products to children under the age of 12 and between ages 12 and 17 on various media and through viral campaigns, product placement, and using licensed characters.
The information is due November 1st, according to Advertising Age, and will be used by the FTC in a forthcoming congressional report.
– Patrick File
Silha Fellow and Bulletin Editor
University of Minnesota | College of Liberal Arts | School of Journalism and Mass Communication
