McDonald's Asked to Focus on Food, Not Premium in Ads
The Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that McDonald's modify broadcast advertising for a McDonald's Happy Meal that included a compact music disc as a premium.
-- Chain Leader, 10/15/2009 8:03:00 AM
PRESS RELEASE: New York, NY - Oct. 14, 2009 - The Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that McDonald's modify broadcast advertising for a McDonald's Happy Meal that included a compact music disc as a premium.
CARU, the children's advertising industry's self-regulatory forum, determined that the advertising at issue focused on the premium - a CD of songs by the KidzBop - rather than the food product. CARU's "Self-Regulatory Program for Children's Advertising," including guidelines on premiums and promotions, states in part that advertisers should "recognize that the use of premiums ... has the potential to enhance the appeal of their products to children."
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Further, CARU's guidelines state that "[s]ince children have difficulty distinguishing product from premium, advertising that contains a premium message should focus the child's attention primarily on the product and make the premium message clearly secondary."
The broadcast advertising at issue ran on children's programming during April 2009 and featured three children and a mother sitting in a mini-van in a McDonald's parking lot and singing along with a song on the KidzBop CD. One child is holding a milk bottle and using it as a microphone. Another holds a Kidz Bop CD. When the song stops, the announcer states, "Kidz Bop, one of eight CDs in the McDonalds Happy Meal." There is an accompanying shot of eight colorful Kidz Bop CDs and then a shot of a Happy Meal.
In response to CARU's inquiry, the advertiser maintained that commercial prominently featured Happy Meal food and beverage components, including low-fat milk, and that the CD was secondary. The advertiser noted that, at the close of the commercial, the CD premiums and the Happy Meal food and beverage components were shown for equal lengths of time.
Following its review of the advertising, CARU determined that the execution of the advertising at issue, including background music from the CD, visual depiction of the CD and the accompanying voice-over -"Kidz Bop, one of eight CDs in the McDonalds Happy Meal" - served to emphasize the premium. CARU further noted that it examines advertising in its entirety, rather than totaling the length of time the product or the premium appear on-screen. In this case, the audio of the CD played throughout the commercial, which, in addition to the visual elements, led CARU to conclude that the primary focus was on the CD.
McDonald's, in its advertiser's statement, said that advertising at issue is no longer running. However, the company said, it respects "CARU self-regulatory process and will take CARU's comments into consideration when producing future advertisements."
CARU's inquiry was conducted under NAD/CARU/NARB Procedures for the Voluntary Self-Regulation of National Advertising. Details of the initial inquiry, CARU's decision, and the advertiser's response will be included in the next NAD/CARU Case Report.
About Advertising Industry Self-Regulation: The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971. NARC establishes the policies and procedures for the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the CBBB's Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) and the Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP).
The NARC Board of Directors is composed of representatives of the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc., (AAAA), the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB), Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation.
NAD, CARU and ERSP are the investigative arms of the advertising industry's voluntary self-regulation program. Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media. NARB, the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate NAD/CARU cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level. This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community; CARU is financed by the children's advertising industry, while NAD/NARC/NARB's sole source of funding is derived from membership fees paid to the CBBB. ERSP's funding is derived from membership in the Electronic Retailing Association. For more information about advertising industry self-regulation, please visit www.narcpartners.org.
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