Washington legislatures hope to nip childhood obesity in the bud without government regulation. That was the lesson taken away from last week’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Health and Human Services hearings.
Officials from both departments met with 11 major food companies, including Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, to shine a spotlight on the need for more responsible food marketing toward youth.
The public hearing was a follow up to a 2006 FTC report that found “among many factors, food and beverage marketing influences the preferences and purchase requests of children, influences consumption at least in the short term, and is a likely contributor to less healthful diets, and may contribute to negative diet-related health outcomes and risks among children and youth.”
According to the Better Business Bureau the 11 companies involved in last week’s discussions represent two-thirds of the total children’s advertising market. Each of those 11 companies pledged to limit the number of ads geared toward children under 12.
Fast-Food Target
McDonald’s Corp., which was the only quick-service restaurant at the hearing, announced 100 percent of its advertising primarily directed to children under 12 would further the goal of healthy dietary choices.
“We pride ourselves on being responsible marketers,” says Danya Prowd, a spokesperson for McDonald’s. “We have to do our due diligence in making sure that we are reaching moms and parents and that they are in a position to make educated choices for their children.”
But not all quick-service restaurants have taken their marketing practices—especially digital avenues—as seriously as McDonald’s, says Kathryn Montgomery, professor of communications at American University and co-author of Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age, a May 2007 report from Berkeley Media Studies Group. Montgomery presented at FTC forum and commended McDonald’s for its participation. She is less complimentary about the rest of the “fast-food world.”