The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered 48 food companies “to file a special report” on their youth marketing practices in an effort “to measure the effect that self-regulation has had over the last three years,” according to FTC spokesperson Carol Jennings. The companies have 90 days to respond to the subpoenas, which will assist FTC in compiling a follow-up to its 2008 report titled “Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents: A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation.” Additional information about this ongoing process appears in Issue 320 of this Update. See Advertising Age, September 1, 2010. “We are supportive of industry voluntary efforts to limit their marketing to kids and this will see whether more is needed,” stated Jennings, who noted that the commission is “not proposing any regulation” at this time. See Advertising Age, September 1, 2010.
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The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) has reportedly recommended that Heartland Sweeteners cease advertising its Ideal® sweetener as “more than 99 percent natural,” after finding that the claim could be misleading to consumers. The board, an appellate arm of the advertising industry’s self-regulatory system, apparently agreed with the National Advertising Division of the Council for Better Business Bureaus that the message conveyed by Heartland’s advertising is that most of the product’s sweetness comes from natural ingredients, when, in fact, the ingredient responsible for 80 percent of its sweetness is the artificial sweetener sucralose. The company issued a statement indicating that it “respectfully disagrees with the NARB’s decision and maintains that its ‘more than 99 percent natural’ claim is clear, truthful and not misleading.” Less than 1 percent of the sweetener consists of sucralose. Still, the company has reportedly indicated that it is reviewing its advertising and packaging and will take…
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) has issued a report showing that alcohol companies “have largely met the industry’s voluntary standards of not placing ads in magazines with 30 percent or more youth readership.” Nevertheless, the report singled out 16 brands allegedly responsible “for half of the advertising placed in publications more likely to be seen per capita by youth than adults.” Researchers apparently used gross rating points, as opposed to gross impressions alone, to measure “how much an audience segment is exposed to advertising per capita.” In addition to tracking youth exposure to alcohol advertising, the report focused on the prevalence of youth exposure coming from overexposure. According to CAMY, “Advertising in media in which youth ages 12 to 20 make up more than 15 percent of the audience generally results in these youth being ‘overexposed,’ that is, they are…
According to a news source, a company that makes high-priced cookware and targets its sales to Spanish-speaking immigrants in the Los Angeles area has agreed to settle litigation accusing it of fraudulently claiming that its products could cure diseases ranging from cancer and Alzheimer’s to diabetes and heart disease. California v. Rena Ware Int’l, Inc., No. BC437981 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., settlement reached July 1, 2010). California Attorney General Jerry Brown brought the lawsuit, alleging unfair competition and false advertising. Sales representatives reportedly told consumers that the cookware reduced high blood pressure by removing hormones from meat while it cooked. Under the agreement, the manufacturer will pay a total of $625,000 to resolve the dispute and must ensure, by means of an independent monitor, that it will refrain from using either false information or high-pressure sales tactics. See Mealey’s Personal Injury Report, July 12, 2010.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a settlement with Nestlé HealthCare Nutrition, Inc., which the agency contends has deceptively marketed a children’s drink, BOOST Kid Essentials®, as a product clinically shown to reduce illness in children by strengthening the immune system and helping them recover more quickly from diarrhea. The beverage, intended for children ages 1 to 13, contains probiotics embedded in a straw that was “prominently featured in ads for the product.” According to the FTC, the company has agreed to stop making health-related claims about cold or flu viruses “unless the claim is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.” The company has also agreed to cease making claims about diarrhea and reduced absences from day care or school “unless the representation is non-misleading and, at the time of making such representation, the [company] possesses and relies upon competent and reliable scientific evidence that substantiates that the…
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the marketing of certain caffeinated malt beverages that “seem to be explicitly designed to attract underage drinkers” and to determine whether new enforcement actions are warranted. In a July 12, 2010, press release, Schumer singled out popular drinks “that appear hip with flashy colors and funky designs” but contain 12 percent alcohol, which is more than twice the amount in a bottle of beer or glass of wine. “However, the labeling and packaging of these beverages renders them nearly indistinguishable from ordinary energy drinks,” Schumer said. “Some stores even stock them directly next to other energy drinks causing further confusion for legal and illegal consumers.” Schumer called the marketing “extremely troubling” in a letter to FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz. “Frankly, it looks to me as if manufacturers are trying to mislead adults and business owners who…
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published a study purportedly showing that children “significantly preferred” snack foods branded with popular cartoon characters. Christina Roberto, et al., “Influence of Licensed Characters on Children’s Taste and Snack Preferences,” Pediatrics, June 2010. Researchers apparently asked 40 children between 4 and 6 years old to sample three identical pairs of graham crackers, gummy fruit snacks and carrots “presented either with or without popular cartoon characters on the package.” The children described whether the two items in each pair tasted the same or whether one tasted better, and then selected “which of the food items they would prefer to eat for a snack.” The results purportedly indicated that participants not only preferred the taste of the branded foods, but that the majority “selected the food item with a licensed character on it for their snack.” The influence of cartoon characters also…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has notified McDonald’s Corp. that it intends to sue the company within 30 days if it does not immediately stop using toys to market its Happy Meals® to young children. The letter characterizes the practice as “illegal, because marketing to kids under eight is (1) inherently deceptive, because young kids are not developmentally advanced enough to understand the persuasive intent of marketing; and (2) unfair to parents, because marketing to children undermines parental authority and interferes with their ability to raise healthy children.” The June 22, 2010, letter claims that McDonald’s has violated the consumer protection laws of California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, and the District of Columbia. According to CSPI, each of the 24 Happy Meals® food combinations is 26 percent higher on average in calories than a reasonable lunch and contains more saturated fat, sodium and sugar than a…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week announced that Kellogg Co. has agreed to resolve an “investigation into questionable immunity-related claims for Rice Krispies cereal.” The agreement reopens a prior order involving Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats®; the FTC will now require “substantiation for all health claims for any food” based on “competent and reliable scientific evidence,” defined as “tests, analyses, research, or studies that have been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by qualified persons and are generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.” According to the concurring statement of Commissioner Julie Brill and FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz, the company was “developing its questionable Rice Krispies campaign last year [while] it was simultaneously negotiating with the FTC to resolve earlier allegations that the company had deceptively marketed Frosted Mini-Wheats as improving children’s attentiveness.” The concurring statement also notes, “What is particularly disconcerting to us is that at…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced its intention to issue compulsory process orders to 48 food and beverage manufacturers, distributors, marketers, and quick service restaurant companies for information on their marketing activities and expenditures targeted toward children and adolescents. FTC also seeks nutritional information about the companies’ food and beverage products marketed to children and adolescents in calendar years 2006 and 2009 “to evaluate possible changes in the nutritional content and variety of youth-marketed foods.” The plan follows FTC’s July 2008 report that analyzed expenditures and promotional activities related to food and food products targeted toward children and adolescents in 2006. FTC wants to use the new data to study how industry allocates promotional activities and expenditures among various media and for different food products and to evaluate the impact of self-regulatory efforts on the nutritional profiles of foods marketed to children and adolescents. Based on the calendar year…
