Advertising Law Tool Kit - Ninth Edition | 2021

Venable / 41 40 / Venable Marketing to Children Here are some specific best practices related to children’s advertising: • If the product or activity shown in the ad typically requires parental supervision, show adults actively monitoring the scene. • If there is a product shot, make it clear what comes with the initial purchase and what must be purchased separately. • If children are shown using the product or engaged in physical activity, show them wearing all necessary safety equipment and playing responsibly. • Depict product use realistically and avoid suggesting the product will make a child more popular or stronger. • If food products are shown, depict reasonable portions to encourage a healthy lifestyle. • If disclaimers are necessary, give them both in writing and orally. • When directing children to a phone number or website, always state they should get their parents’ permission before calling or going online. • When advertising a sweepstakes, contest, or similar promotion, make clear the free means of entry and that “many will enter, few will win.” • If offering a free product, the advertisement should focus on the product rather than the giveaway. • Avoid calls to action, such as “act fast, buy now” or “ask your parents to call now,” that could be viewed as overly aggressive for a child audience. • Before collecting data from a child under the age of 13 (16 in California and the European Union), follow the procedures for parental notification and consent in COPPA (and/or the CCPA or GDPR, as applicable). When marketing to children under the age of 13, there are heightened requirements that go beyond standard truth in advertising and fair advertising practices. Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) monitor and review advertising that targets children for unfair and deceptive practices. CARU sets forth specific guidelines for ads shown on children’s television, in children’s publications, and on websites with content directed to children. The basic idea behind these standards is that children have a difficult time understanding that they are being given a sales pitch and distinguishing between reality and fantasy. For these reasons, claims need to be narrowly tailored and very clear, in language children can understand, without preying on their potential vulnerability or naivete. There is also an additional self-regulatory group that is part of the BBB, the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. CFBAI participants voluntarily commit that either they will not advertise foods and beverages to children under age 12 at all, or they will advertise only products that meet certain strict criteria. Both the FTC and CARU monitor and enforce compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires that marketers seeking to collect personally identifiable information (PII) from children under 13 must first obtain verifiable parental consent. Recently, however, laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have increased to 16 the age at which a company must seek parental consent before collecting data from children in those jurisdictions. Melissa Landau Steinman mlsteinman@Venable.com +1 202.344.4972