Rudd Center Issues 2013 Report on Food Advertising to Children and Teens
The Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has released an updated report on food advertising to children and teens that criticizes the fast-food industry for failing to meet its own marketing standards. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “Fast Food FACTS 2013” claims that fast-food restaurants spent $4.6 billion on total advertising in 2012, an 8 percent increase over 2009. In particular, the report notes that even as “older children’s total exposure to fast food TV and internet advertising declined,” “fast food marketing via social media and mobile devices—media that are popular with teens—grew exponentially.”
According to the Rudd Center, which reportedly surveyed the menus and marketing practices of 18 top fast-food restaurants in the United States, children aged 6-11 saw 10 percent fewer fast-food TV ads in 2012 compared to 2009, while many chains discontinued popular websites geared toward younger audiences. At the same time, however, the report alleges that “three-fifths of fast food restaurants increased TV advertising to older children,” with an 8 percent increase in the amount of funds allocated to Spanish-language TV ads. It also notes that 19 percent of all fast-food display advertising appeared on Facebook, with three-quarters of McDonald’s Happy Meal display ads appearing on kid-friendly websites such as Nick.com, Roblox.com and CartoonNetwork.com.
In addition, the Rudd Center singled out the nutritional content of fast-food fare, alleging that “less than 1% of kids’ meals combinations at restaurants meet nutrition standards recommended by experts, and just 3% meet the industry’s own Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative and Kids LiveWell nutrition standards.” Although the report admits that “most restaurants offered at least one healthy side option and three-quarters increased healthy beverage options,” it still faults the establishments in question for failing to increase the proportion of lower-calorie, healthier items on menus.
To help address these issues, the report urges the fast-food industry to apply its own nutrition standards to the majority of kids’ meals, automatically provide healthy sides and beverages as the default option on kids’ meals, and make healthier options available at a reasonable price. It also recommends, among other things, that these companies “stop marketing directly to children and teens to encourage consumption of unhealthy fast food,” “limit advertising on children’s TV networks and third-party kids’ websites to healthy kids’ meals only,” and “stop unfair marketing targeted to children, including ads that focus on promotions, not food, mobile advergame apps, and online ads that link to advergame sites.”
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