FTC Ends Brainy-Baby Video Investigation

By Christopher S. Rugaber

The Associated Press

December 6, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission has decided not to pursue enforcement action against Baby Einstein Co. and Brainy Baby LLC over complaints by a consumer group that the companies deceptively marketed their products.

Both companies have changed how they market their videos, DVDs and other products, the agency said in letters to the companies' lawyers. In addition, both companies pledged to ensure that future claims of educational benefits from their products will be "adequately substantiated," wrote Mary K. Engle, the FTC's associate director for consumer protection.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a Boston-based group of health care professionals and educators, asked the FTC to investigate the companies in May 2006.

The group charged that Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby claimed, without sufficient corroboration, that their videos have educational and developmental value for children under 2. The CCFC cited promotional material on the companies' Web sites, such as a Baby Einstein claim that its "Baby Wordsworth" video can help a toddler learn words in Spanish, French and English.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 2 avoid television, the group noted. The CCFC asked the FTC to prohibit the companies from making claims about the videos' educational benefits.

Baby educational videos came under fire in August when a study by the University of Washington, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, found that overuse of the videos may slow the acquisition of vocabulary in infants aged 8 months to 16 months.

The CCFC said Thursday its pleased the companies have altered their Web sites, but added that they "continue to profit from building their brands on years of false and deceptive marketing that their videos are beneficial for babies."

Susan McLain, vice president of Baby Einstein, said the company hopes the "voluntary modifications we made to our Web site ... will help clarify what Baby Einstein is all about, which is to provide parents with simple tools they can use with their babies to inspire meaningful moments of discovery and interaction together."

Baby Einstein was purchased by the Walt Disney Co. in 2001.

"Brainy Baby is pleased with this decision," the company's president and founder Dennis Fedoruk said in a statement. "We feel it reflects the commitment of our company to market responsibly."

This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner