Food Marketing to Children: Issues, RegulationsFood

and Marke
Strate ting
gies

Food Marketing to Children

Issues, Regulations and Strategies
Subhadip Roy*

Various issues are being raised against advertising and marketing of

food items to children. The two most important issues are that of
ethics of marketing to children and the effect of food advertising on
child obesity. However, in a tightly regulated marketing environment
in most of the developed countries, advertisers and marketers do
not have much scope for adopting unethical practices in marketing
to children. This article talks about the issues involved in food
marketing to children, the various regulations worldwide, and also
tries to find out some strategies which the marketers can use to
come out as winners.

Kids are targeted in relentless ways by food companies, and they aren’t mature enough to
make choices that affect their health.
– Kelly D Brownell and Katherine B Horgen1

T
he above argument may be true to some extent, but given the fact that kids have influenced
around $200 bn of purchases worldwide by the end 1990s, marketing to kids becomes a very
attractive proposition for marketers. The influence of kids on purchases, not only of their own,
but also of their parents, is popularly known as ‘Pester Power’ or ‘Kidfluence’. Marketers are using this
to their benefit, but the question is, whether they are misusing it? Sometime in the early 2000s, when
I was in college, there used to be a TV serial called ‘Shaktimaan’ (it means: The man who has power).
I used to watch it just for fun. The serial was very popular among children all over India. It was
sponsored by Parle-G (a biscuit brand by the Parle company) and there was one particular Parle-G
advertisement which used to show Gangadhar (the alter ego of Shaktimaan, who was a news reporter),
eating a Parle-G biscuit and then transforming into Shaktimaan.

After watching the ad, I used to wonder whether that would send a message to the children that
eating Parle-G would make them Shaktimaan. There have been various cases in India where children
tried to imitate Shaktimaan and got injured. Take the case of the new advertisement of Britannia
Tiger Biscuit. It shows a kid getting very good marks in his exams because he ate Britannia Tiger
Biscuits. Is there any research evidence that proves that eating biscuits enhances the performance of
the brain?
* Research Scholar, IIMT, Hyderabad.
1
Kelly D Brownell and Katherine B Horgen, “Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America’s
Obesity Crisis and What We Can Do About it”, McGraw Hill, 2003.

© 2006 IUP. All

Advertising Rights Reserved.
Express 41
 Food Marketing

The point which needs a

Figure 1: Percentage of Parents Voting Against Marketing
considerable amount of
of Unhealthy Food Items to Children
discussion is the ethical
perspective of the implicit claims
in advertisements. Many
advertisements of food products
for children show the protagonists
(who are mostly children)
performing impossible feats after
eating that particular brand of
food.
This trend is witnessed not
only in India but also across the
world. A survey conducted
worldwide with a sample size of
5,860 parents found that, majority
of the parents were against Adapted from GMI Poll April 2005, published in “Trends”,
marketing of high fat/junk food Young Consumers, 2005 Quarter 2
and drinks to children. (Refer to
Figure 1)
It is interesting to note that in every country, the percentage of parents voting against marketing of
high fat/junk food and drinks to children, crossed the 50% line. This means that the majority of the
parents around the world are against the marketing of unhealthy food items to children. It is more
interesting to note that 76% of the parents surveyed in India were against the marketing of junk food
to children. The issue that is raised is that of child obesity which is a rising problem not only in the
developed countries, but also among developing countries. But, before going into that issue, we need
to look into the broad issues involved in food advertising to children.
Research Outcomes on Advertising to Children
The Office of Communications (OFCOM), a regulatory body in the UK had commissioned a survey
on advertising to children, and a part of that was an extensive literature review on the effects of food
promotion to children. Some important findings of the report were:
1. Children of all ages are affected by advertisements: Empirical evidence is there to prove that
TV as well as radio advertising has an effect on the children’s choice of food. It has also been found
that advertisements affect children of all age groups, one of the reasons being that there are
different advertisements for different age groups.
2. Media Literacy of children varies with age: Media literacy can be defined as “The ability to
access, analyze, evaluate and create messages across a variety of contexts.”2 It has been found that
there is a significant difference in media literacy among different age groups. The media literacy
levels at different age groups are shown in Table 1.

2
“A Commentary on the Research Evidence Regarding the Effects of Food Promotion on Children.”

42 March 2006
 Food Marketing to Children: Issues, Regulations and Strategies

Table 1: Media Literacy Levels 3. Literacy Level Affects the

at Different Age Groups Influence of Advertisements: The
education or literacy level is also a force
Age Group Media Literacy
that has an impact on the effect of
1- 4 years Advertising is taken to be informative advertising in children. It has been found
4 - 7 years Ability to distinguish between that the less literate viewers who are
programs and ads
generally the younger children, are more
7 - 11 years Ability to understand and persuade influenced by the features of the
11 years and above Understanding about the intention of advertisements which affect the senses
the advertiser of sight, hearing, etc. On the other hand,
Adapted from “A Commentary on the Research Evidence the more literate viewers, i.e., the older
Regarding the Effects of Food Promotion on Children”, collected
children go deep into the meaning of
from http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/tv/reports/food_ads/
appendix1.pdf the advertisement and the claims made
in it.
The Issue of Obesity
Obesity can be defined as: “A condition that occurs when energy intake exceeds energy output for
extended periods of time.”3
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as the Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 30. (The
BMI is calculated by dividing an individual’s weight in kilograms by the square of his/her height in
meters.) Any BMI above 30 signifies obesity.
Obesity is becoming a hot issue all over the world. In a national survey conducted in New Zealand,
one out of every 10 children was found to be obese. The findings of a study conducted in Europe in the
early 2000s indicated that Italian children were the most obese in Europe. Parents blamed the advertisers
as the cause for the increasing levels of obesity among children. But researchers have found that
advertisements are not the sole reason behind obesity. There are multiple factors which affect the
choice of food and diet of children directly or indirectly such as:
Individual Factors: Intrapersonal factors such as psychological, biological and behavioral factors.
Social Environmental Factors: Interpersonal factors such as family, peers, friends, etc.
Physical Environmental Factors: Community-related factors such as accessibility and lack of food.
Macro Environmental Factors: These are broad societal factors like the mass media, advertising,
culture, policies, etc.
The factors act at different levels and may interact with each other. The network of such factors
can be illustrated with a diagram given as in Figure 2.
Many surveys found television viewing to be correlated with obesity levels. However, the explanation
is threefold. Firstly, long hours in front of the television reduce metabolic rates and displace physical
exercise. Secondly, many a times, television viewing is also associated with the consumption of junk
food/high fat food and high calorie drinks. Lastly, television viewing increases the exposure to food
advertisements, specifically those of foods which are High in Fat, Sugar or Salt (also known as HFSS
food products).
Thus, from all these evidences, one point becomes clear: Food advertisements or promotions may
not be the only cause of child obesity. However, it acts as an indirect cause since it is associated with
television viewing and it can act as a sub factor influencing obesity in children.
3
Stephanie Lvovich, “Advertising and Obesity: The Research Evidence”, January 2003.

Advertising Express 43
 Food Marketing

Figure 2: Factors that Affect Children’s Choice of Food

Levels
Parent Demographics
Cultural
Child Characteristics School Characteristics
Control/Social
Pressure Family Habits
School Policy
Peer Pressure
Knowledge Media Literacy

Media Exposure Exposure to TV and Other

Forms of Promotion

Behavior and
Attitudes Child Habits

Health
Child Health

Adapted from “A Commentary on the Research Evidence Regarding the Effects of Food Promotion on Children”

Regulations Around the World

Public concern regarding food advertising to children has been addressed by companies, controlling
organizations and governments of countries all around the world to prevent the ill-effects of advertising
to children. The regulations have a wide range from being highly self-regulated such as in the
Netherlands and the UK where there are regulations imposed by several individual bodies to countries
like Sweden where there is a ban on all advertising directed to children under 12 years of age. Table
2 furnishes a summary of regulations and regulating bodies in different countries.

Table 2: Regulations and Regulating Bodies in Different Countries

Country Regulating Codes/Acts Regulations

Body/Bodies
USA Children’s Advertising • Children’s Television • Care should be taken to
Review Unit (CARU) Act, 1990 (CTA) ensure that ads don’t unfairly
• Children’s Online exploit the imaginative power
Privacy Protection of kids.
Act, 1998 (COPPA) • Information communicated
through ads should be truthful
and accurate.
• Alcohol advertising, including
use of sports celebrities or
characters such as Santa Claus
is restricted.
• Restrictions on tobacco ads
targeting persons less than 18
years of age.
Contd...

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 Food Marketing to Children: Issues, Regulations and Strategies

Contd... Table 2
UK • Committee of • The British Code of • Uneasy images should be
Advertising Practice Advertising, Sales avoided in advertisements.
(CAP) Promotion and • Product features should not
• Broadcast Advertising Direct Marketing be exaggerated.
Clearance Center • The Independent • Ads should not encourage the
(BACC) Television Commission children to replace main
• Radio Advertising Advertising Standards meals with snacks or junk
Clearance Center Code (ITC code) food or have food during
(RACC) • The Radio Authority bedtime.
Advertising and • Ads encouraging excessive
• Advertising Standards
Sponsorship Code consumption of food are
Authority (ASA)
(RA code) prohibited.
Canada • Advertising Standards • Broadcast Code for • Exaggeration of product
Canada (ASC) Advertising to characteristics is prohibited.
• Canadian Radio Children • Use of images that may cause
Television and • Canadian Code of physical, mental or moral
Telecommunications Advertising Standards harm to the children is
Commission (CRTC) • CBC Advertising prohibited.
• Canadian Marketing Standards
• Ads which directly urge a child
Association
to buy or to pester his/her
• Canadian Broadcasting parents to do so is prohibited
Corporation (CBC)
Australia • Australian Broadcasting • ABA’s Children’s • Advertisements likely to
Authority (ABA) Television Standards cause distress in children are
• Australian Association of (CTS) prohibited.
National Advertisers • AANA Advertising • Images depicting unsafe uses
(AANA) Code of Ethics of a product or unsafe
• Advertising Federation of • Internet Industry situations involving children
Australia (AFA) Code of Practice are prohibited.
• Australian Direct • Alcohol advertisements are
Marketing Association highly restricted.
(ADMA)
Germany NA • European Union • Misleading ads are prohibited.
Television Directive • Restrictions are there on
advertising in schools.
• Advertisements should not
take advantage of the
inexperience of a child.
India Advertising Standards Cable Act • Programs on cable TV should
Council of India (ASCI) not degrade children.
• Government guidelines are
there on marketing of alcohol
and cigarettes to persons
below 18 years of age.
France BVP (French Office for NA Ads cannot show children to be
Advertising Control) inactive or eating snacks.

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 Food Marketing

From the table, it can be noted that the regulations are not very
specific and comprehensive in India. Also, ASCI is not fully functional
now. This means that marketers in India can still get away with
exaggerating and misleading claims in advertisements and
promotions.
Winning Strategies Higher disposable
Before formulating a marketing strategy which targets children, a income of parents is
marketer needs to understand some important factors (Tucker, 2004)
resulting in higher
which are:
pocket money for
• The needs that the product is supposed to satisfy.
children which is
• The emotions associated with the need-satisfaction process.
directly influencing
• The process of information assimilation and dissemination by
their buying power
adults to the children.
• The process of information gathering by the children from the
adults and the media.
• The information obtained by the children after actual
consumption.
The advertising agency also has an important role in advertising food items to children because it
is the agency that creates the message for the client.
For the marketers, what should be done, is to establish an ethics code which takes into account the
various ethical issues in food marketing to children. An ethics code coupled with an ethics manager to
ensure compliance with norms will not only benefit the company in terms of better business, but will
also act as a boost to the image of the company.
Conclusion
As it was mentioned earlier, the children’s market has a huge potential and that makes it a prime target
for food marketers. In addition to that, higher disposable income of parents which is resulting in higher
pocket money for children is directly influencing the buying power of children. For younger children
who cannot process information fully, an advertisement message can have a harmful effect if not sent
across in a proper manner.
Global companies, however, are responding to the challenge by coming up with food products
which are healthy and good for children. Notable among them is the ‘Blue Parrot Café’ range of
products by the UK retail giant Sainsbury’s, which is targeted towards children between 5-12 years.
Similarly, Marks & Spencer has its ‘Everyday Eating’ range for children between 3-6 years, and
Tesco has the ‘Kids at Tesco’ range.
Finally, even without restrictions, a marketer should not practice unethical marketing practices
while marketing food items to children because the child (who may or may not be the direct
customer) is going to grow up as a customer for a lot of products of different or the same marketer.
By adopting unfair means of marketing, the marketer will only end up losing that customer. AE

Reference # 18M-2006-03-08-01

46 March 2006