Food companies
are
increasingly
using the
internet to
deepen
children's
exposure to
marketing
messages
through online
games and
commercials,
blurring the
lines between
advertising
and
entertainment,
a new study
has found.
The study of
77 US-based
food company
websites by
the non-profit
Kaiser Family
Foundation
comes as
governments
try to crack
down on the
marketing of
sugary and
salty snacks
to children to
curtail rising
levels of
childhood
obesity.
However,
regulators
have no
authority to
call for
changes to
corporate
websites,
because
information
provided by
companies on
their own
websites is
considered
"editorial"
rather than
"advertising".
The Kaiser
Foundation,
which claims
to have
undertaken the
first
comprehensive
study of
online
advertising to
children,
found that 85
per cent of
the top US
food brands
that target
kids though
television
advertising
also used
branded
websites.
It said the
brand-related
information
contained on
websites was
more extensive
than the
information
contained in a
traditional
30-second
television
advertisement,
and allowed
children to
spend an
unlimited
amount of time
interacting
with specific
brands. It
also said some
websites
"recruited"
children as
marketers,
using them to
promote
branded
messages to
their friends.
"Online
advertising's
reach isn't as
broad as that
of television,
but it's much
deeper," said
Vicky Rideout,
vice-president
and director
of Kaiser's
programme for
the study of
entertainment
media and
health, who
oversaw the
research.
The report
found that 73
per cent of
the websites
included "advergames"
(games in
which a
company's
product is
featured),
ranging from
one to more
than 60 games
per site.
It also found
that 64 per
cent of sites
used viral
marketing
(which
encourages
children to
contact their
peers about a
specific
product) and
more than half
gave children
online access
to television
advertisements.
Based on data
from Nielsen
NetRatings,
the sites
surveyed
received more
than 12.2m
visits from
children aged
two to 11 in
the second
quarter of
2005.
Governments in
the US and
Europe have
been trying to
restrict
children's
access to junk
foods by
banning junk
foods in
school vending
machines, and
restricting
the amount of
junk food
advertisements
on television.
However, rapid
advances in
technology
mean that
companies are
able to use
other
marketing
methods.
A study by UK
consumer group
Which? earlier
this year
found that
some food
companies were
encouraging
children to
text codes
using mobile
phones to
enter
competitions.
Meanwhile,
Coca-Cola
recently said
trials of new
vending
machines that
allowed users
to take
digital photos
and download
ringtones for
mobile phones
could be
replicated
worldwide as
the soft
drinks company
seeks to
interact more
directly with
consumers.
The Cokefridge
machine, which
is being
trialled in
Germany, has
an interactive
screen that
runs
advertisements,
and allows
users to
obtain free
photos, games,
logos and
ringtones
after they
have bought a
drink.
The US
advertising
industry is
developing
more detailed
voluntary
guidelines for
online
marketing to
children,
expected to be
released
shortly.
About 16 per
cent of US
children and
teenagers aged
six to 19 are
obese,
according to
data from the
US Centers for
Disease
Control and
Prevention.
