We may look back to Winter 2005 as a seminal period in advertising. While nothing has changed, much is changing. The title of the long-awaited report from the Institute of Medicine, "Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?" may just say it all. The fact that a highly respected governmental body has raised tough questions about food marketing to children at all puts the industry in a hard-to-win position.
Even if we accept that current food advertising to children is benign (and there is ample evidence to support this assertion), the way that companies market, sell and advertise food products to youth, hereafter, will no longer be the same.
The Committee on Food Marketing and the Diets of Children and Youth, along with the Food and Nutrition Board and the Board on Children Youth and Families, all have concluded that "there is strong evidence that television advertising influences the food and beverage preferences of children ages 2-11, and that statistically, there is strong evidence that exposure to television advertising is associated with adiposity (body fatness) in children ages 2-11 and teens ages 12-18 years."
The Committee recommends that food and beverage companies should promote more healthful diets for children, including shifting their product portfolios to foods and drinks that are substantially lower in total calories, lower in fats, salt, added sugars, and higher in nutrient content.
With this and more stringent recommendations, food manufacturers must decide how much resistance to muster against an unmistakable mandate for healthier foods.
For some companies, this will be a simple call: phase out advertising of the suspect products--a move recently aplombed by Kraft and heralded by critics and policymakers alike. For other companies more heavily invested in the kids' food category, the decision could be much more wrenching, as the choice becomes (1)to continue in a significantly changed category or (2)leave it altogether. Certainly no easy call.
Whatever happens in the short-term, the long-term imperative is clear: the companies that make foods which appeal to children not only have to make their products different, but they also have to market and advertise them differently.
Any such changes are certain to affect the bottom lines of food companies and the advertising agencies involved. Only time will tell whether kids will become healthier as a result.
One thing is certain: Congress, regulators, children's advocates and the media will be watching with raised expectations. If for no other reason, that alone should propel the industry to continue its rapid and responsible course of action. In so doing, it will find there is goodwill to be gained among every quarter.
Plus, when it comes to children, everybody knows that a little bit of goodwill goes a long, long way.
(c)2005 Adonis Hoffman
