Restaurants and food companies showed marginal improvement when it comes to marketing to children, a recent government study found.
And while some critics insist those companies still have a long way to go, the largest purveyors of kids’ meals contend that they have made more progress than was reflected in the study and will continue to strive to make further advancements in that arena.
In “A Review of Food Marketing to Children and Adolescents,” a report released by the Federal Trade Commission in December, it was found that food and beverage companies, including restaurants, made “a number of modest improvements from 2006 to 2009” in marketing responsibly to children and shifting their marketing emphasis to more nutritious items.
“The encouraging news is that we’re seeing promising signs that food companies are reformulating their products and marketing more nutritious foods to kids, especially among companies participating in industry self-regulatory efforts,” FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. “But there is still room for improvement. We will look for continued progress by the food industry and greater participation by the entertainment industry.”
Data did not reflect post-2009 menu moves by McDonald’s, Burger King and other chains to further improve nutritional standards by reformulating kids’ meals, increasing messaging around active lifestyles and disclosing more nutritional information.
Consumer advocacy groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest said the FTC’s report indicated a slight step forward, but said restaurants and other food marketers have more work to do if they expect to police themselves.
“Self-regulation has led to only modest improvements in the way food and media companies market and advertise food to children,” Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the CSPI, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of food advertised to kids is still of poor nutritional quality.”
Companies cut calories
But Cindy Goody, McDonald’s senior director of nutrition, disputed the characterization that her brand has not made enough progress in improving the nutritional profile of food served to children or the manner in which McDonald’s advertises those items.
“As a family brand, we take our commitment to responsible communication with our younger customers seriously,” Goody said. “Our commitment is focused on offering more nutrition-minded menu options and promoting balanced choices, nutrition and active-lifestyle messages in 100 percent of our marketing communications to children.”
She cited as proof of that commitment the brand’s September 2011 national rollout of new Happy Meals with side options that include apple slices and a kid-sized portion of French fries by default, as well as nonfat milk as a substitute for soft drinks. All meals featured in ads directed toward children have no more than 600 calories, 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat and 740 milligrams of sodium. The meals do not contain any trans fat, either, she noted.
McDonald’s supported those new meals with an ad campaign in March 2012 focused on active lifestyles, which complemented its Champions of Play digital promotions tied into the brand’s sponsorship of the Summer Olympics.
Peer quick-service restaurants also marketed meals labeled as “children’s meals” that on average were more nutritious than other entrées targeting customers, including children, the FTC found in its study.
The quick-service companies that reported youth-directed marketing information to the FTC for both 2006 and 2009 included Burger King Holdings Inc., CEC Entertainment Inc., McDonald’s Corp., Wendy’s International Inc. and Yum! Brands Inc. For the 2009 report, Arby’s Restaurant Group, Subway parent Doctor’s Associates Inc., Dunkin’ Brands Inc. and Sonic Corp. were added.
According to the report, the quick-service brands spent 54 percent more on child-directed television advertising in 2009 than in 2006 and 30 percent more on teen-directed television advertising in 2009.
However, while those restaurants spent more money on youth-related advertising, the average nutrition profile for foods marketed to children in 2009 improved from that of three years earlier. The FTC found that meals advertised to children had an average per-serving drop of 81 calories, 57 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of sugar and 0.5 grams of saturated fat. Fiber levels were low both years.
Average nutrition levels for food directed at teens also improved, with average per-serving declines of 43 calories, 14 milligrams of sodium and slightly less than 1 gram of sugar. Saturated fat and fiber content remained consistent from 2006 to 2009.
Implored to do more
The FTC said companies that have formed the voluntary Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative — of which McDonald’s and Burger King are the only two restaurant signatories — marketed more nutritious meals than companies and restaurants that did not participate in the group.
Though CSPI’s Wootan criticized the CFBAI’s decision to dismiss voluntary guidelines from a federal Interagency Working Group in favor of their own common nutrition standards, she nonetheless said, “More companies need to take responsibility for what they market to children.” She called on “all food companies that market to children,” including IHOP and Chuck E. Cheese’s, to join the CFBAI.
Goody said McDonald’s has been a part of the group since 2006.
“We were actively engaged in working with the Council of Better Business Bureaus to develop this leadership program and continue to be an active member of this group,” Goody wrote. “We support this self-regulatory approach and the significant accomplishment of defining common principles around which the industry can work together.”
Burger King and McDonald’s both released updated pledges to the CFBAI last spring, in which they outlined several youth-marketing guidelines. They include the limiting of third-party character tie-ins only to kids’ meals meeting the group’s uniform nutrition criteria, and abstaining from all advertising in elementary schools and from product placement in any programming for viewers aged 12 and younger.
Goody said McDonald’s voluntary moves toward greater nutritional disclosure apply across the entire menu, not just to food marketed to children. The brand voluntarily listed calorie counts on all menu boards beginning in September 2012, well ahead of standards to be mandated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which are expected to take effect this year.
Last month, the chain announced new packaging and in-store communication materials that would make nutritional information even more accessible to guests at McDonald’s more than 14,000 restaurants in the United States. Guests with smartphones can scan special quick-response codes on cups and takeout bags to pull up Web pages on their mobile browsers that detail the chain’s calorie counts and other information.
“We will continue to listen to our customers in order to evolve our menu and our communications,” Goody said, “while ensuring that they can always find accurate, reliable nutrition information in our restaurants that empowers them to make smart choices.”
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN.