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A WORD FROM THE SPONSORS:
Industry Leaders Respond to Mothers’ Questions About Self-Regulation and
Advertising to Children
A Mother’s Day Report
from the Mothers’ Council
May 4, 2004
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The average child in the United States views an estimated 40,000 commercials
each year—just on television. Expressions of public concern about the effects of
advertising on children are usually met by the industry’s assurances of its
ability to regulate itself. Taking the industry at its word, it is reasonably to
ask: what are the industry standards that guide the production and placement of
the growing number of advertisements targeted at children? And do advertisers
and marketers follow their own standards?
This Mother’s Day report shares the responses of industry leaders to the
Council’s requests for information about corporate guidelines on advertising and
marketing to children, and focuses on the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU),
touted by the industry as a cornerstone of its self-regulation efforts.
There is a glaring gap between what the advertising industry says about
self-regulation - and what it actually does. CARU has established an impressive
set of principles to protect children under the age of 12. These principles
speak, among other things, of advertisers’ “special responsibility to protect
children from their own susceptibilities.” Unfortunately, the CARU principles
are routinely ignored by many in the industry.
In a Harris Interactive poll conducted in April 2004, the majority of youth
marketers agreed that:
1. “advertising to children begins at too young an age;”
2. “most companies put pressure on children to pester their parents to buy
things;” and
3. “most companies put pressure on kids to grow up faster than they should.”
Of growing concern to mothers, fathers, health care
professionals, and educators are: the explosion in the number of ads directed at
young people; the targeting of young children; marketing in schools; school
field trips to corporate sites; "viral marketing"-- marketing to young people
through personal interaction; "adver-gaming"--ads in video and computer games;
"immersive advertising"-- integrating ads into entertainment sites; ads
encouraging pre-teens to act like teens; and ads that maximize the "nag factor"
and encourage children to pressure their parents to buy products."
The industry has far outpaced its self-regulatory agency. For all its good
intentions, as currently structured, CARU cannot keep up with contemporary
trends in advertising and marketing to children. CARU’s weaknesses raise
fundamental questions about how well the industry is actually regulating itself.
We urge the advertising industry to take immediate steps to strengthen its
self-regulatory capabilities by: 1) reviewing recent industry trends and
practices in light of CARU’s principles; 2) developing new guidelines to address
these new practices; 3) increasing CARU’s staffing; 4) diversifying CARU’s
advisory board; and 5) creating a seal of approval reserved for advertising that
adheres strictly to CARU principles. We urge Congress to conduct industry-wide
hearings into self-regulation in the business of advertising and marketing to
children. To read the complete report, please visit:
http://www.watchoutforchildren.org/html/word_from_sponsors.html
ABOUT THE MOTHERS’ COUNCIL
The Mothers’ Council consists of mothers of diverse backgrounds, professions,
and political perspectives. We seek to help mothers meet the unprecedented
challenges of raising children in the 21st century. The increasing
commercialization of childhood is at the forefront of our current concerns. This
Mother’s Day report is a follow up to Watch Out for Children: A Mothers’
Statement to Advertisers , an open letter to the advertising and marketing
industry. For more information, please visit:
www.watchoutforchildren.org
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