Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents - Federal Trade ...

Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents
not meet the 20% teen audience share threshold, 29 the reported expenditures for these shows are
not included in the aggregated television expenditures. However, the data serve to illustrate the
point that children and teenagers are exposed to a great deal of advertising that may be targeted
to a general audience comprised mainly of adults. On average, more than two million teens
watched American Idol, and more than one million watched American Dad and Family Guy
during the 2005-2006 time frame. Some of these shows were even more popular with children.
On average, more than three million children watched American Idol, and more than one million
watched Unan1mous and The Simpsons. (By comparison, for the same year, the 2-11 audience
for Nickelodeon’s popular youth-directed show SpongeBob SquarePants ranged from 576,000 to
over 2.4 million, with an average child audience of about 2 million. 30 )
Most of the companies that advertised on these five broadcast programs stated that their ads
were not child- or teen-directed. One carbonated beverage company, however, acknowledged
that ad placements on these shows were part of its marketing strategy to reach teens. 31 In
addition, at least two companies have affiliated their brands with shows such as American Idol in
order to reach children and teens – one through toy premiums for children’s meals 32 and the other
through sponsorship of the American Idol Live! Tour. 33
Advertising expenditures on these
top five broadcast shows – a total of
$116 million – were reported for all food
categories except fruits and vegetables.
As shown in Figure II.9, QSRs reported
$60 million, and carbonated beverage
companies reported $41 million; these two
categories combined accounted for 87%
of reported expenditures for the top five
shows.
b. Ra d i o a n d PR i n T
Child-directed expenditures for radio and print ads were relatively small in comparison
to those for television. Only in the juice and non-carbonated beverage category were there
significant expenditures – $2.5 million for child-directed radio advertising. 34 Teen-directed
radio advertising was more significant, with carbonated beverage companies spending more than
$41 million, and QSRs nearly $30 million. Candy/frozen dessert and non-carbonated beverage
companies reported more than a million dollars each for teen-directed radio advertising.
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
16
Top 5 Teen (12-17) Broadcast Shows
60
41
Dollars (in millions) Figure II.9: Television Advertising Expenditures on
Restaurant Foods Carbonated Beverages Juice & Noncarbonated
Bevs.
8 7
All Other