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

Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents
meeting the Commission’s adolescent-directed criteria. Two candy companies directed
television advertising for certain products to the Hispanic audience, including youth. Finally, a
milk marketer and a QSR reported Spanish-language television advertising directed to youth.
A few companies reported other ethnic- or gender-focused print, radio, and Internet
advertising. Certain beverage companies reported sponsoring music websites that appeared
in Spanish and featured Hispanic artists, and a company marketing energy drinks reported
translating many of its ads into Spanish. A QSR reported distributing Spanish-language
promotional flyers to general audiences, including youth, for a fund-raising event. A milk
marketer reported gender-focused celebrity print advertising directed to either girls or boys, with
higher expenditures for boy-targeted advertising, apparently due to the higher cost of media
required to reach that audience. A candy company reported gender-focused print, in-store, and
Internet advertising in conjunction with a popular retailer specializing in girls’ clothing. A few
companies reported directing radio advertisements for beverages or snack chips to Hispanic and
African-American youth.
2. Athletic and Other Event Sponsorships
Some beverage companies promoted soccer events to Hispanic youth, and sponsored
basketball tournaments and streetball events for African-American youth. A QSR noted
sponsorship of public events geared toward Asian Pacific Americans, including youth, and
sponsorship of a sports program for teenage girls. Two packaged food companies, on behalf
of several brands, reported sponsoring sports programs and other events primarily directed to
Hispanic audiences, including youth. For example, one canned pasta brand sponsored a youth
soccer tournament directed primarily to Hispanics at which product logos appeared on team
jerseys, field flags, and banners, as well as on soccer balls and hacky sacks given to participants
as premiums. One candy company sponsored a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
that featured Latin tween pop group RDB. A beverage bottler engaged in sampling and other
promotional activities at various Hispanic festivals. Finally, a beverage company and a QSR
reported partnering to raise money for a program to teach English to Hispanic pre-school
children; events took place at community parks, with branded prizes.
3. Packaging, In-Store, Premiums, and School-Related Marketing
Packaged food, candy, produce, and beverage companies and QSRs reported some ethnic- or
gender-focused marketing on packaging, in stores, through premiums, and in schools. A food
company reported packaging-related expenses for breakfast and snack foods directed to female
audiences, including some youth. Another company marketed cookies with packaging and
back-to-school store displays in Spanish and English, and book covers and sports cards inside
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