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Back
to latest news
Food companies snare children in their websEmbargo: 00.01am Monday 1st August 2005 This story published in the latest issue of the Food Magazine, out now.Makers of soft drinks, sweets and sugary cereals are designing websites to catch the attention of children barely six or seven years old. Cheaper than TV advertising, and completely outside the control of the Advertising Standards Authority, commercial websites are enticing youngsters with games and prizes, and encouraging them to send in their names and addresses. Children may also be asked for email addresses for themselves and their friends. In return for this direct marketing information, the children receive points which get them small gifts, games, software or mobile phone ringtones. Some websites require food products to be purchased beforehand, so that children can log onto the website with codes from the product wrappers, giving the children access to exclusive parts of the company's website. The companies pushing their products use these subtle and cleverly-designed websites to promote brands such as Nesquik, Frosties, Panda Pops, Chewits, Skittles and Kinder Surprise. Children usually view these websites on their own or with their friends, without the guiding hand of a teacher or parent to help them unpick the marketing messages or give their approval when the children send their details to the food company. Techniques such as these, that can entice children to make direct relationships with junk food promoters, would be severely criticised if it occurred on children's television or in children's comics. That companies can do so freely on the internet says less about the open nature of the internet than it does about the appalling morality of the food companies, which clearly see no problem in undermining parental controls and encouraging unhealthy diets. Caught in the net?Websites are one of the best ways to reach children with a marketing message. In comparison to expensive TV advertising, they can be relatively cheap to create. And once they are posted on the internet, they can remain online for months without the repeat fees associated with broadcast advertising. They also have international appeal, with children logging on all over the world to receive information about global brands. But perhaps the biggest benefit for food companies is that online marketing is subject to none of the voluntary codes of practice governed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA refuses to rule on complaints submitted in relation to websites. Yet, as our survey shows, food marketing websites targeted at children often use some of the most insidious and manipulative marketing techniques – including dubious health claims and marketing techniques that tell a child they will be more popular and attractive if they purchase certain sweets. Such techniques would receive public censure were they to appear in the traditional media used for marketing communications. However, when they go online, children are subjected to the excesses of marketing techniques that the ASA (a voluntary body set up by the industry) is meant to control. It will be no surprise to Food Magazine readers that such marketing is used in support of the least healthy foods. Our survey showed that many such websites are for foods such as sweets, lollies, sugared fizzy drinks, burgers and chips. These are all foods that contribute to the poor quality of children's diets. Here we show just some of the common techniques used to advertise junky foods to children. More examples are shown online at the Children's Food Bill campaign website – the campaign is in support of new legislation to ensure that children are protected from junk food marketing, to improve the quality of food in school meals and vending machines, and to ensure that children receive food education that supports health and well-being. Extracting information from children
Surveys: Optional surveys are posted on many websites which extract the personal information of the user, such as their name and address. Free samples or prizes may be offered as a reward. Registration: Many websites require a child to register before being allowed into exclusive areas of the website, or before being allowed to collect exchangeable points. This process often requires the child to enter their email address and allows the website to be personalised in the child’s name. Whilst some websites require parental approval for this interaction, we have found it remarkably easy to ‘cheat’ these so-called security features, posing as an eight-year-old, who then continues to receive marketing messages by email. Getting your message across to non-users of the websiteE-cards: Electronic postcards that can be sent to friends (see above). Recommendations: Users are encouraged to recommend the website to their friends. By telling a friend about the site, collectable points may be awarded to the user, who can then spend them within the website.
Ensuring product purchasesDownloadable ring tones: Nine out of ten UK secondary school children own a mobile phone and many are tempted by the ‘free’ ring tones which can be downloaded from websites. However, the downloads frequently require a product purchase so that ‘codes’ can be obtained to activate the download.
Online games: An access code may be required to play online games. For example, the Kinder Egg website requires users to go out and buy a chocolate egg to obtain a Magicode which allows them to play online games and to download games and ‘surprises’. Each Magicode can only be used once, thus encouraging repeat purchases. An online ‘safe’ is also provided at this site so that users can store unused Magicodes. Users are promised a special surprise if they store five Magicodes (from five purchases) in the safe. Promotional tie-ins. The website encourages viewers to send in product packets in exchange for merchandise. For example, children who visit the Smarties website can get football stickers in return for Smarties packets. GamesGames are the mainstay of websites aimed at children. They make the website ‘sticky’ – extending the time a child spends at the site and increasing their exposure to the brand. The games frequently involve the player collecting images of packets of the product to achieve high scores in order to access the next level of the game or to enter a prize draw. For example, the Nesquik website has a game in which images of packets of Nesquik must be collected from a tree. The Frosties website (mentioned in FM69) requires users to navigate cartoon athletes to pick up packets of Frosties cereal to boost their energy. Games on the Chewits and Jelly Belly websites involve guiding a character to eat as many sweets as possible to achieve a high score. Exploiting a child’s insecuritiesJust like advertisements aimed at the adult market, children’s brands are marketed to exploit their aspirations and fears. That’s why rules for broadcast advertisements expressly discourage advertisers from saying that children can be more popular or sexy if they buy certain products. But online, anything goes.
The Introductory animation to the Bubblicious website uses a cool musical soundtrack with an overlaid spoken dialogue to suggest that Bubblicious can help the user to B-different, B-brilliant, B-magnetic and B-ready. We never realised that bubble gum could B-so powerful! Unregulated health claims
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E-cards:
Children are encouraged to send e-cards (electronic postcards) to their
friends via email. This is an almost ubiquitous feature of children’s
websites. The cards generally display images and logos of products and
act as adverts. The e-cards invite the children who receive them to visit
the website and join the website club or to play online games.
Buddy
Icons: These are downloadable icons used on MSN Messenger (a widely
used online chat service provided by Microsoft). The animated icons will
appear on the screen of anyone who ‘chats’ to the user, subtly
promoting the product in the process. 
Downloadable
software: Children are also encouraged to purchase products in order
to obtain a ‘code’ that can then be used to download software.
For example, the Bubblicious bubble gum website offers downloadable voice-activated
software in which a famous basketball star will ‘obey’ your
spoken instructions and open programmes on your computer, but you need
to go out and buy the product in order to get the access codes. 
The
Promotional
links