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

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Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents Promotion of food and beverage products also occurred at music concerts and festivals, teen choice awards and music video awards, and other public appearances by musical entertainers. At one venue at which a candy company purchased billboard and scoreboard advertising, child- focused events included Disney on Ice, the Ringling Brothers Circus, Sesame Street Live, the Harlem Globetrotters, and Hilary Duff and Cheetah Girls concerts, while teen events included high school basketball, wrestling and cheerleading events, Fall Out Boy and American Idol concerts, and high school graduations. A children’s toaster pastry brand sponsored the national tour for American Idol, distributing samples at concerts and displaying branded ads on jumbo screen billboards. Two major beverage companies established shopping mall vending areas, with comfortable seating, as a place for teenagers to congregate, with samples provided at some venues. Candy companies sponsored children’s activities associated with Halloween and Easter at shopping malls and train stations. Other events featuring branding and product sampling by marketers of beverages, candy, and baked goods, as well as QSRs, occurred at amusement parks, zoos, museums, parades, and children’s movie premieres. One refrigerated cookie dough brand sponsored a Disney Jr. Chef program at Epcot Center, Disneyland, and on Disney Cruise Line ships, in which children baked cookies and received branded chef hats, aprons, mitts, and certificates. Another common promotional technique was to send branded cars, vans, or buses on national or regional tours to distribute samples and engage with children and teens at stores, community events, amusement parks, and athletic events. One energy drink company employed staff to travel around the country in branded cars to give product samples to consumers, particularly adolescents. A candy company partnered with Six Flags Amusement Parks and made frequent stops of its touring bus at the parks to conduct games, sampling, and premium giveaways; the company also displayed signage and ran 30-second television ads on monitors in the parks. A carbonated beverage company sponsored a “Holiday Caravan” – a branded truck in which children could have their photo taken with Santa. Another beverage company employed two teams of samplers that toured the country in branded vehicles, distributing samples and creating “impromptu” parties at sporting events, skating parks, and areas with numerous pedestrians, with occasional appearances by performing artists. Several companies – including dairy, fruit, candy, QSR, and beverage companies – sponsored youth soccer events at the local, national, and even international level. Companies also sponsored Little League Baseball and other youth sports, as well as championship games, high school player-of-the-year awards, sports camps for young athletes, and youth ballparks. Product samples were distributed or sold at youth sport events, and sporting equipment branded 48
Food Marketing Activities Directed to Children and Adolescents with food product logos was used by players. In New York City, one beverage company sponsored a television program, directed to high school students, which provided updates on area high school games. Youth-related promotional activities with professional athletic teams or athletic associations often involved “kids clubs” or “kids day” events. Events or participatory activities for young people included opportunities to meet and have photos taken with players, serve as bat boy/girl, practice pitching, perform a coin toss, participate in pre-game parades, attend parties, win free tickets, or join youth fan clubs. In addition, some companies sponsored athletic camps, clinics, and training programs, including sweepstakes for children and adolescents to win a place in these programs. One beverage company co-sponsored athletic touring events, drawing players from various professional teams to play exhibition basketball games. Product samples were offered at these events, as well as at other summertime basketball tournaments in outdoor parks. To reach adolescents, food and beverage marketers and QSRs sometimes focused on sponsorship of “extreme sports” or action sports, which are popular among teens. A snack meat brand sponsored the Dew Action Sports tour, receiving exclusive branding at the tour’s skateboarding park. Another company sponsored extreme sports events – including skateboarding, in-line skating, and bicycle stunts – to promote its carbonated drinks and smoothies. A breakfast cereal brand co-sponsored Sports Illustrated for Kids’ national talent search, the Next Snow Search 2006, which aimed to find the next generation of extreme skiers and snowboarders and was open to boys and girls ages 10-15; the company had posters, banners, inflatables, a spokescharacter mascot, and a branded “fun zone” at the event site. One producer of energy drinks focused most of its promotional efforts on extreme sports, sponsoring athletes, teams, and competitive events for activities such as motorcycling, bicycling, auto racing, snowmobiling, kayaking, skiing, swimming, diving, surfing, snowboarding, skating, skydiving, paragliding, and various other wind/water sports. g. PR o d u c T Pl a c e m e n T s Product placements occurred when food and beverage products or product branding were integrated into the storyline of a movie or television program. Carbonated beverages, including energy drinks, were placed in various television programs that companies reported as appealing to adolescents. 73 Beverage placements occurred in some of the top broadcast programs watched by teens, such as The Simpsons and Family Guy. Placement could include a character drinking a soda or offering a can to another character, the can or bottle appearing on a table or a refrigerator shelf, a character mentioning the product in dialogue, or a product logo appearing on a T-shirt or other item, such as a cooler. Other television programming in which product placements 49
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Marketing
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Report Contributors Bureau of Consu
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Appendices 2. Athletic and Other Ev
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List of Figures Figure II.1: Report
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Marketing Food to Children and Adol
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