A Fine Line When Ads and Children Mix

Marketers began paying closer attention to how they advertised to children in the 1970s, when consumer advocates complained about the ways commercialism permeated society. In 1974, the industry created the Children's Advertising Review Unit. Today, that unit has about seven reviewers who contact companies when they judge ads are misleading or inappropriate. More recently, regulators pressured the industry to limit food advertising in response to concerns about childhood obesity. In 2006, major food marketers began joining the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, another program from the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The debate over what is appropriate for children continues, with the Federal Communications Commission seeking opinions about online marketing to children, and the Federal Trade Commission holding a hearing in December on food marketing to children. All the scrutiny has put children's magazines under pressure. While almost all magazines suffered in 2009, magazines for children posted some of the lowest overall ad-page numbers. Nickelodeon magazine ceased publication with its December 2009/January 2010 issue. In response, some magazines are taking a more expansive view of how advertisers can reach children.