An Evaluation of Government and Industry Proposed Restrictions on Television Advertising of Breakfast Cereals to Children

Abstract

In the United States, both industry and the federal government have worked to establish voluntary guidelines for how firms market food to children and to establish a threshold for the nutritional quality of foods marketed to children. The authors evaluate three US guidelines that deal with television advertising of breakfast cereals, which is both heavily advertised and a common meal item for children. They find that the majority of cereals advertised primarily to children from 2006-2008 do not meet any of the current and proposed self-regulatory nutrition guidelines, and that this is generally due to excessive sugar content. Further, children and adolescents are exposed to more advertising for products that do not meet the nutritional guidelines. We evaluate the extent to which each of the guidelines impacts advertising of cereals that are most viewed by children and purchased by households with children. The results provide insight for policy makers concerned with limiting the extent to which children see television advertising and ultimately consume unhealthy breakfast cereals.

Targeted Advertising in the Breakfast Cereal Industry

“…The target objectives of the CFBAI focus on regulating when ads can be shown (during children's programming vs. prime time) and the type of programming during which the ads can be shown based on audience composition (young children vs. adolescents). Prior research has questioned, however, the effectiveness of the CFBAI at actually limiting how much advertising children see for unhealthful products (Berning, Huang, and Rabinowitz, 2014; Berning and McCullough, 2013; Huang and Yang, 2013). The results of this research provide more insight, to both industry and government, regarding ways to make advertising restrictions more impactful.…”

“…A heart-healthy breakfast cereal advertisement may fall on deaf ears if targeted to children, just as a Cocoa-covered, high-sugar cereal advertisement may not appeal to adults. In fact, Berning, Huang, and Rabinowitz (2014) find that the average nutritional content of advertised children's cereals is one with more fat and sugar and less protein.…”

“…In addition, Schwartz et al do not account for other types of product characteristics, such as packaging and cobranding. In their analysis of advertising, Berning, Huang, and Rabinowitz (2014) disaggregate the nutritional content of cereals, but they also do not consider other product characteristics. Finally, neither of the previous analyses accounts for intermittent pulse advertising, where firms strategically advertise in pulses rather than continuously.…”

“…The food industry spends an estimated $1 billion a year on marketing food and beverages to children aged 2–11 and $1 billion a year to teens aged 12–17 (Federal Trade Commission [FTC], 2012). As such, both industry and government have engaged in the ongoing discussion regarding the impact of television advertising on consumption of unhealthful foods (Berning, Huang, and Rabinowitz, 2014). The Institute of Medicine has recommended that industry, government, public health, and consumer groups come together to enforce standards for marketing to children (McGinnis, Gootman, and Kraak, 2006).…”

Pushed into a crowd: Repositioning costs, resources, and competition in the RTE cereal industry

“…2 2 The food policy and medical literature (e.g., Berning, Huang, and Rabinowitz (2013) and LoDolce, Harris, and Schwartz (2013)) examined the effectiveness of the RTE cereal portion of CFBAI and found mixed results. …”