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

Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents
focused content; developing independent websites for particular child- or teen-directed food
products or promotional campaigns; purchasing ads on third-party websites to promote a food
item or promotion; and using a range of other digital marketing techniques, such as email
newsletters, downloadable screensavers and wallpapers, podcasts, and “webisodes,” to reach
children and adolescents.
Many companies designated portions of their websites as dedicated child or teen zones.
Other companies had independent websites for products that were child- or teen-focused,
in which all of the content was directed to those audiences. In some cases, unique websites
were created for specific promotions. One energy drink company closely tied its promotional
activities to extreme sports popular with teens by hosting several websites dedicated to different
sporting activities, such as paragliding, skydiving, motorbike racing, and kiteboarding. Child-
and teen-directed website content often featured bright colors and graphics, and images of
children and adolescents; teen websites occasionally used darker colors and graphics.
Many websites allowed children and teens to view the companies’ television ads for the
products, but at least one company had a policy that television ads would not be automatically
streamed to child viewers online. Some carbonated beverage companies reported interactive
website features that allowed consumers to create their own videos using clips the companies
provided of food products and extreme sporting activities.
Advergames were a frequent feature on child- and teen-directed food company websites,
appearing on websites for products such as snack chips, fruit snacks, seeds, candy, cookies,
cereals, dairy products, cocoa, children’s frozen meals, restaurant food, frozen waffles, canned
soups, fruit, and non-carbonated beverages. Product packaging often directed consumers to
online games, with a chance to win a prize; companies occasionally rewarded children who
entered codes from product packaging with access to additional game levels. In some cases,
the games were designed so that consumption of the food product by the game’s characters was
an objective for players. 65 One candy website featured a teen-directed advergame in which
players operated a virtual skill crane machine in an effort to retrieve candy bars with the crane;
successful players had a chance to win iPod Nanos, as well as real candy. 66 Another candy
maker, however, had a company policy not to promote games that encourage consumption of
products, while a packaged food company’s policy prohibited online games that included any
type of excessive product consumption. The packaged food company’s policy also required that
games targeted to or frequented by children must include an “activity break” every 30 minutes,
pausing website action and encouraging children to engage in a “more active” pursuit.
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