A Review of Food Marketing to Children and Adolescents 2012
Executive Summary
A. Background and Overview
This report is a follow-up to the Federal Trade Commission’s 2008 report: Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents: A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self- Regulation. The 2008 report wasrequested byCongress and prompted by concerns about dramatic increases in the rate of childhood obesity. It examined the state of food and beverage marketing to children as of 2006, at the early development of industry self-regulatory initiatives to improve the nutritional profile of foods marketed to children. Using data obtained through compulsory process orders to 44 major food and beverage marketers, the Commission found that the food industry spent $2.1 billion marketing food to youth in 2006. The Commission documented which categories of foods and beverages were most heavily marketed to children and teens, as well as which marketing techniques were used. TheCommission also assessed early self-regulatory effortsto promote more nutritiousfoods and made specific recommendations for further action by the food industry and media. In particular, the Commission conducted a detailed assessment of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), a significant self-regulatory program launched by the Council of Better Business Bureaus in 2006. Because self-regulation was still at its nascence, the Commission committed to prepare a follow-up report assessing industry progress.
The 2006 data from the first reportserve as a baseline for measuring the impact of industry efforts. The current report compares 2006 data to 2009 data from the 44 original companies and four additional companies. Total spending on food marketing to youth dropped 19.5% in 2009, to $1.79 billion. Spending on youth-directed television advertising fell 19.5%, while spending on new media, such as online and viral marketing, increased 50%. The overall picture of how marketersreach children, however, did notsignificantly change. Companies continue to use a wide variety of techniquesto reach young people, and marketing campaigns are heavily integrated, combining traditional media, Internet, digital marketing, packaging, and often using cross-promotions with popular movies or TV characters across all of these. Those techniques are highly effective. Consumer research submitted by the reporting companies confirmsthe “pester power” phenomenon – child-directed marketing and promotional activities drive children’s food requests. Children, in turn, play an important role in which productstheir parents purchase at the store, and which restaurantsthey frequent.
An important new element of the current report is the nutritional analysis of foods marketed to youth. The report examines whether and to what extent the nutritional quality of foods marketed to children and teens has improved with the advent of self-regulatory initiatives. Overall,here were a number of modest improvements from 2006 to 2009, with more pronounced changes in particular food categories. The Commission is also aware that many food companies have continued to improve the nutritional profile of their foods, for example, by further reducing the sugar content of cereals marketed to children and increasing the whole grain content.
Finally, this report examines the progress industry has made in marketing food responsibly to children and shifting the emphasis of that marketing to more nutritious choices. The food and beverage industry, and in particular the CFBAI, has made major strides since the early days of self-regulation in 2006. The industry has expanded the scope of children’s marketing to which their efforts apply and has strengthened and standardized the nutritional criteria for foods marketing to children. New uniform criteria, developed by the CFBAI and scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2013, will likely lead to further improvementsin the nutritional quality of foods marketed to children, but could be further strengthened to more closely track key dietary advice in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In addition, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation has also succeeded in improving the nutritional quality of foods and beveragessold in schools. Within the media industry, individual entertainment companies have taken a leadership role in limiting character licensing and other cross-promotions to children and restricting ad placement during children’s programming to nutritious foods. Despite the commendable progress, thisreport identifies areas where further efforts could be made by the food and beverage industry and the media industry to improve the nutritional quality of foods marketed to youth.
B. Dollars Spent on Marketing to Youth
C. Nutrition in Marketing to Youth
D.Methods of Promoting Food and Beverages to Youth
E.Trends in Youth Food and Beverage Consumption
F. Summary of Industry Progress
