Snacks attack children’s Web games

Many children are playing games online that have embedded marketing messages. The problem is these messages mostly pitch unhealthy foods.

On sillyrabbit.millsberry.com, the Trix cereal character Silly Rabbit invites kids to play online baseball. As the rabbit winds up his pitch, a blimp passes by telling children they would have more energy if they ate breakfast and chose cereal.

What began as puzzles on the back of cereal boxes has become an array of online “advergames” designed to reach children in ways traditional advertising can’t. As a result, children are being saturated more than ever with messages that push junk food that can harm their health.

A study published last month by the Kaiser Family Foundation says 85 percent of children’s food brands, many with little nutritional value, have created Web sites to engage users with their brands for extended periods of time. Of the 107 sites in the study, 77 percent were aimed specifically at children. These sites are alarming to several advocacy groups because they have a deeper, more interactive reach than TV.

“It’s a different kind of exposure” to a brand, said Elizabeth Moore, a marketing professor at Notre Dame University who wrote the Kaiser study. “It’s more memorable whereas TV is shorter, more passive.”

A major concern, she said, is that a blend of games and ads makes it harder for children to recognize they are looking at commercial advertising.

“You’re taking play and embedding it with messages,” she said in a phone interview. “Blending advertising and entertainment creates a new challenge [for children] who have not developed cognitive and attitudinal defenses.”

In addition to advergames, the sites frequently encourage viral marketing, letting children e-mail their friends about the site. Terron Wint, 12, of Evanston, said he often visits postopia.com because he heard about it from a friend. Postopia and millsberry.com were the two most visited Web sites in the study, according to Alexa Web traffic data.

“Usually I’ll play games, or make an account,” Wint said. “If it’s not Postopia, I go to cheetos.com.”

At cheetos.com, clicking on the games button brings up an invitation to try new Crunchy Twisted Cheetos. Then visitors can help Chester the Cheetah run and jump along a Cheetos truck to reach its driver.

The Web sites in the study increased their market reach by an average of 14 percent over the last three months, according to Alexa. Of course, not every child is enamored with online food games. Matias Anon, 10, of Evanston, only visited postopia.com once.

“The games weren’t that good and the whole site wasn’t very good,” he said. “I didn’t go back.”

In response to the Kaiser study, the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., issued a statement saying 90 percent of the foods in the foundation’s study are “fast foods, sugary cereals, candy, soda, cookies, and other nutritionally poor foods.”

Children are being overwhelmed with food products made specifically for them. Research from the University of Texas at Austin shows that in 1994, companies introduced 54 new food products targeted at children and youth. That number has increased dramatically to 513 new children’s products in 2003. During that time, the total number of new products for the general market has increased only 10 percent.

Advocacy groups such as the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood are calling for government to regulate advergames and viral marketing among children. As it is, regulators have no say because information on companies’ Web sites is considered editorial content, not advertising.

Some food companies have adopted ethical standards for their advertising. A Kraft representative said the company does not advertise to children younger than 6 and adheres to all existing regulations on advertising to children. Kraft had $16.7 billion in revenue in the last 6 months.

But fewer than 20 percent of studied sites had “ad breaks” or notices to children that the sites include advertising, according to the Kaiser study.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents steer their children away from commercial Web sites.

“Teach your child to recognize the advertising and marketing of products,” the academy’s Web site states.

Interestingly, children may not be the only ones who don’t realize the games are ads in disguise.

“It seems like the same thing happens to adults,” said Jessica Maye, assistant professor of communication sciences at Northwestern University. “They don’t know [they’re being advertised to] either.”

Maureen Raya, an Evanston mother, said she has noticed her child hears and internalizes advertising messages very quickly.

“He’ll come in to me with direct quotes of, ‘Mom, this is great for you. It’s healthy, it’s a healthy snack for you,’” Raya said.

The foundation’s study showed that several brands make benefit claims of good taste or fun on their Web sites. Only half the sites included nutrition information such as that found on product labels.

Ultimately, Maye said, parents should be the ones to make the final decisions about what children are allowed to do online and what they may eat. Almost all of the sites in the Kaiser study included some information for parents, but it was usually information about privacy and legal matters, not the product itself.

Northwestern University marketing professor John Greening said neither parents nor children can blame marketing for the choices they make to purchase or consume foods.

“It always comes back again to parental responsibility,” Greening said. “In America we always want to be victimized, because it means we don’t have to take responsibility for [anything]. It’s easy to point to, ‘It’s not my fault, the TV made me do it!’”

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy for parents to speak louder than advertising messages. Beatrice Edwards, assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern University, said the foundation’s study shows “a disturbing trend” of junk food marketing.

“Kids run the household these days,” she said. “This is only going to increase their desire.”

Copyright © 2007 Logan Molyneux. All rights reserved.
logan@loganmolyneux.com