Don't Blame The Advertising

According to a new study from the FTC, advertisers might not be to blame for the childhood obesity epidemic. According to Michael Salinger, director of the bureau of economics at the FTC, "I think childhood obesity is a major problem. But I think the study casts doubt on whether food advertising is the main culprit." As a matter of fact, according to the Federal Trade Commission, children ages 2-11 were exposed to fewer paid TV food advertising minutes, at about 9% fewer ads — 5,538 commercials in 2004 versus 6,100 food ads in 1977.

But before there are too many back slaps and hearty handshakes of self-congratulations, let's not overlook another difference between 2007 and 1977: the Internet.

In 1977, there were no web sites for kid foods, kid restaurants or kid menu items. There weren't web sites for any food, restaurants or menu items for that matter.

But today:

• A Google search for Happy Meal returns 5,320,000 results
• A Google search for McDonald's delivers 15,200,000 results
• Go to Disney.com and click on content for boys, girls or kids and teens and see ads for Cheetos, Honeycomb and Frosted Flakes cereals
  
• Nickelodeon features a Baby Bottle Pop promotion. Nick, Jr. and Noggin feature McDonald's salads since, presumably, moms help their toddlers and preschoolers surf the Internet — and work up an appetite doing it.
  
• Yahoo features Mt. Dew promotions (games, music) tied to the Transformers movie release
  
• Checking on the Most Talked About Moments from the 2007 MTV Movie Awards featured a :30 Taco Bell commercial. Banners were also featured prominently (on reloads, it was Ghost Rider)
  
• MySpace music features Dr. Pepper
• AOL Games features a Hillshire Farm-sponsored Shrek game (what?)
  
• Noggin.com pushes McDonald's salads to moms (since it's a preschooler site and kids and moms probably access it together)
• Candystand.com, sponsored by Wrigley's is loaded with games, as is the Willy Wonka Candy Factory
• Postopia.com is the Post cereals game site
  

It goes on and on; virtually every kid food product (really, every kid product) has an online presence to engage and entice the children of today. This is important because, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project report entitled Teens and Technology (07/27/2005), the number of teenagers using the internet has grown 24% in the past four years and 87% of those between the ages of 12 and 17 are online. Compared to four years ago, teens’ use of the internet has intensified and broadened as they log on more often and do more things when they are online. And according to Nielsen/NetRatings, the amount of time spent online by kids 2 - 11 has increased 41% in the last 3 years.

And according to Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist and spokeswoman for the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, whether kids are seeing fewer ads on TV isn't the issue. Newer forms of advertising, such as product placements in movies and TV shows, Internet ads and product tie-ins between popular movies and fast food restaurants makes the volume of TV ads "kind of meaningless," Linn says. "Just because children may view fewer television ads in no way means that they're being advertised or marketed to less," she said.

So are marketers and agencies breathing a collective sigh of relief after being (slightly) exonerated for causing childhood obesity? Or are they saying, "True, it's not the TV advertising; we've just finally cracked the code on truly integrated marketing."?

Believe me, I don't think that advertising, no matter how good or integrated, is causing obesity in children or adults. Does it play a role? Probably but not that significant of one. Can it play a role in helping to turn the tide? Absolutely. More to come on the subjects of obesity and the role of marketers.