14

Many companies are taking advantageof schools’ financial difficulties byoffering marketing dollars as a way forschools to bridge budget gaps.

Food Availability

One key goal of manufacturers,restaurants and marketers is to ensurethat their products are never far fromchildren’s reach. With over 420,000restaurants and other food serviceoutlets in the country, there areopportunities to eat out almosteverywhere children go – shoppingmalls, gas stations, movie theaters,highway rest stops, sporting events, etc.(US Census Bureau, 1997). Thatincludes approximately 174,000 kid-oriented fast-food outlets. There arevending machines in approximately1.4 million schools, worksites, colleges,hospitals, public buildings and otherlocations (Lavay, 2002).

Food Marketing in Schools

Marketing in schools has become bigbusiness. Businesses see it as anopportunity to make direct sales and tocultivate brand loyalty. They realize thatschools are a great place to reachchildren, since almost all attend schooland they spend a large proportion oftheir waking hours there. School-basedmarketing also adds credibility tomarketing activities by associating thecompany’s name and product withtrusted schools or teachers.

Nineteen states have laws orregulations that address commercialactivities in schools, but just five ofthose are comprehensive in nature(GAO, 2000). Only 12% of schools

prohibit the sale of junk foods3 out ofvending machines, school stores, snackbars and other venues outside of theschool cafeteria (CDC, 2000b). Somehave defended the sales of low-nutritionfoods at schools by saying that ifschools do not sell these foods, childrenwill just buy them off campus. However,75% of senior high schools, 90% ofmiddle/junior high schools and 95% ofelementary schools have closed-campus policies (CDC, 2002b).

National PTA guidelines state that“public schools must not be used topromote commercial interest” (NationalPTA, 2002). The National Associationof State Boards of Education’s (NASBE)policy on school-business relationshipsstates that “selling or providing accessto a captive audience in the classroomfor commercial purposes is exploitationand a violation of the public trust”(NASBE, 1998).

Commercial activities in schools include:1) product sales, such as food sales outof vending machines, exclusive softdrink contracts, fundraising activities orreceipt rebate programs; 2) directadvertising, such as ads on vendingmachines, scoreboards, posters, schoolpublications, book covers, banners ingymnasiums and Channel One; 3) free

3CDC defines junk foods as foods that provide

calories primarily through fats or added sugars

and have minimal amounts of vitamins and

minerals.

15

Schools with Vending Machines,Stores, Snack Bars*

School Level PercentageElementary 43%Middle/Junior High 74%High School 98%

*CDC, 2000b

Vending machines not only dispense high-calorie, low-

nutrition foods, but the fronts of the machines are often ads.

product samples; 4) indirect advertising,such as corporate-sponsorededucational materials and teachertraining, contests in which childrenreceive product prizes, incentiveprograms and corporate gifts in whichthe donor benefits commercially; and5) market research, such as studentsurveys or panels and tracking ofstudents’ Internet activities (GAO,2000).4

Product Sales in Schools. TheGeneral Accounting Office (GAO) foundthat “product sales – primarily the saleof soft drinks by schools or districtsunder exclusive contracts and short-term fundraising sales – were the mostcommon and lucrative type ofcommercial activity at the schoolsvisited” (GAO, 2000). Vendingmachines, school stores, canteens orsnack bars are in almost half of

elementary schools, three-quarters ofmiddle schools and virtually all highschools (see table) (CDC, 2000b). Themost common items sold are soft drinks,fruit drinks that are not 100% juice, andsalty snack foods and sweet bakedgoods that are not low fat. Vendingmachines not only dispense high-calorie, low-nutrition foods, but thefronts and sides of the machines often

are ads in and of themselves.

Of all product sales in schools,exclusive soft-drink contracts are thefastest-growing ventures (GAO,2000). Half of school districts havecontracts with soft drink companies(CDC, 2000b). However, theconditions and profitability ofexclusive soft drink contracts varyconsiderably from district to district(GAO, 2000). Though somecontracts appear to be lucrative, thefunds raised usually represent only asmall fraction of a district’s overallbudget. On average, contractsgenerate from $3 to $30 per studentper year, and even the most lucrativecontract provides less than 0.5% of aschool district’s budget (GAO, 2000).

4A list of companies that advertise in schools is

available from Consumers Union at

<http://www.consum ersunion.org/other/sellingkid

s/advertiserlist.htm>.

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School Text Book CoversExclusive soft drinkcontracts usually includeprovisions under whichthe district or schoolearns more revenue themore soft drinks they sell. About 80% of districtsreceive a percentage ofsales and 63% receiveincentives tied to sales(CDC, 2000b). Sucharrangements create asituation in which it is inthe financial interest ofthe school administrationfor students to drink moresoda and can leadschools to promote softdrinks to children andmake them more available (in morelocations or for longer periods of timeduring the school day).

The percentage of public schools,participating in the National SchoolLunch Program, that offer brand-namefast food rose six-fold (from 2% to 13%)between the 1990 and 1995 schoolyears (GAO, 1996). By 2000, brand-name fast food was offered in 20% ofschools (CDC, 2000c).

Fundraising by student groups, parent-teacher organizations, booster clubsand athletic programs often involves thesale of low-nutrition foods. About 80%of schools sell foods or beverages forfundraising (CDC, 2002b). Of thoseschools, 76% sell chocolate candy, 67%sell baked goods that are not low fat,and 63% sell non-chocolate candy.

Direct Advertising in Schools. The GAO (2000) found that the mostvisible and prevalent advertisements in

schools are soft drink ads (including onbeverage vending machines) andcorporate logos on scoreboards. Otheradvertising in schools is on book covers,posters, school buses, schoolcalendars, school newspapers andprinted programs for school events. Asurvey of California high schools foundthat 39% of districts had fast food andbeverage ads on posters, 28% had adson scoreboards or signs, and only 13%prohibited advertising (15% of districtsdid not respond) (Craypo et al., 2002).

Channel One is a for-profit enterprisethat provides electronic equipment (asatellite dish, wiring, VCRs andtelevisions in each classroom) toschools in exchange for schoolsshowing students (in at least 80% ofclassrooms on 90% of school days) a12-minute news program, including 2minutes of commercials (GAO, 2000). Channel One promotional materialsboast that it has “television’s largestteen audience” (Channel One News,

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$2,500 Products $59 Stapler

W ith Campbell’s Labels for Education program, students’

families have to buy about $2,500 worth of soup to obtain

enough labels to get a $59 heavy-duty stapler for their school.

2002), with more than 8 million viewersin over 12,000 middle, junior and highschools (Channel One, 2003). However, public pressure has keptChannel One out of New Yorkpublic schools.

Channel One promotes unhealthyeating habits to children by airingads for low-nutrition foods,including Pepsi, Snapple, MUGroot beer, Gatorade, Snickerscandy bars and Starburst candy. Channel One adds credibility toadvertising because it is shown inschool, and adds to children’stelevision viewing time, whichalready exceeds recommendedlevels. In addition, Channel Onecuts into instruction time. Classtime lost to Channel One has beenestimated to cost taxpayers $1.8 billiona year (Reid & Gedissman, 2000), with6 hours of class time devoted toadvertising each school year.5

Channel One positions itself witheducators as a way to “empower youngpeople by keeping them informed ofcurrent events” (Channel One, 2002). However, the company’s sales tapepaints a different picture (Channel One,1996). The tape states that “Millions ofteenagers are all over the place butthere’s one place where you can get tothem.” Then, the tape cuts to children

watching Channel One in school. Several people on the tape, includingteachers, explain how much the kidspay attention to the commercials.

School Contests, Coupons andIncentives. Another way that foodcompanies market their products tochildren is by sponsoring contests andgiving away coupons in schools.

Y Kraft sponsored a contest in whichelementary-school “kids from across thecountry .... sing the praises of hot dogsand bologna” for the chance to win$10,000 for their school’s musicprogram (Kraft Foods, 2002).6

Y With Campbell’s Labels for Educationprogram, students collect labels fromCampbell products and redeem them forschool supplies, musical instruments orfood service equipment (Campbell SoupCompany, 2003). However, theprogram requires students’ families to

5Based on a 180-day school year.

6In July 2003, Kraft Foods announced that it will

no longer m arket its products in schools.

However, school-based m arketing was not a

major m arketing venue for Kraft.

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A national Pork Board coloring book teaches

children that it is important to eat pork.

buy almost $15,000 worth of soup toearn one stock pot for the schoolkitchen (12,400 required labels fromcans of soup that cost about $1.20each) or $2,500 worth of soup to get aheavy duty stapler (2,100 labels).

Y The Pepsi Notes contest providedmusical instruments to schools inexchange for note symbols collectedfrom Pepsi and Frito-Lay packages(PepsiCo, 2002).

Y Pizza Hut has a school-basedprogram that rewards elementary schoolstudents for reading a required numberof books by giving them a coupon for afree Personal Pan Pizza (Pizza Hut,2003). Not only does this program usea low-nutrition food to reward academicachievement, but it often results in otherfamily members eating – and paying fortheir own meals – at the restaurant(which, of course, is a goal of thepromotion).

Y The Krispy Kreme Good Gradesprogram offers elementary schoolchildren one doughnut for each “A” theyearn on their report card (and up to sixdoughnuts per grading period) (KrispyKreme, 2003).

Only Alabama and the District ofColumbia prohibit the use of food toreward children for good behavior oracademic performance, and seven otherstates (Alaska, Arkansas, Minnesota,Nevada, Oregon, Wisconsin andWyoming) discourage this practice(CDC, 2001a).

Corporate-SponsoredEducational Materials. ConsumersUnion found that 80% of the 77 industry-

sponsored educational materials theyreviewed promoted the company’sagenda or consumption of theirproduct(s) or included biased orincomplete information (ConsumersUnion, 1998a).

Several food companies provideeducational materials for children. Thecontent of McDonald’s What’s On YourPlate video (McDonald’s, 2002b) andthe National Dairy Council’s PyramidCafe Student Workbook are not overlycommercial or misleading (NationalDairy Council, 1998). However, theDairy Council’s workbook emphasizesmilk over the other food groups byconsistently listing the milk food groupfirst and by showcasing only dairy foods,including the “Got Milk” ad slogan, onthe back page of the workbook. TheNational Pork Board’s Learning aboutPork coloring book teaches children thatpork is “an important part of a well-

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Food ads also come in the form of toys, clothes, games and books.

balanced diet” and that “healthy pigs arehappy” (National Pork Board, 1996).Other materials do not seek to teachnutrition directly, but aim to cultivatebrand identity and loyalty. Coca-Colaand McDonald’s co-sponsor the LittleKnown Black History Facts EducationKit, and McDonald’s has materials onsubjects ranging from firesafety to suicide prevention(McDonald’s, 2002b). Forgrades K-5, teachers can calltheir local McDonald’srestaurant and arrange for“inspirational lessons...hostedby Ronald McDonald.”

Schools in California areprohibited by law from usingmaterials containing corporatelogos, commercial brandnames and products unlessthe use of the logo, brandname or product is necessaryfor educational purposes(California Education Code,2003).

Toys, Books, Clothing and OtherProducts with Brand Logos

Many manufacturers sell toys, booksand apparel that are advertisements fortheir products. Dr. Marion Nestle, chairof Nutrition and Food Studies at NewYork University, calls these “ads youbuy” (Nestle, 2002). The Coca-Colawebsite sells T-shirts, toys, games,sports gear and other child-orientedproducts with the Coca-Cola standardlogo and/or polar bear mascot (Coca-Cola, 2002). The McDonald’s Kids’Stuff website sells tee-shirts (includingin sizes for 2 to 4 year olds), a “HappyMeal Guys” lunch box, soft dolls

representing a hamburger, fries and adrink, and the Let’s Go to McDonald’sGame (McDonald’s, 2002a). Kelloggsells dolls of its cereal icons (Tony theTiger, Toucan Sam, etc.), as well astoys, clothing, cereal bowls, spoons andsnack containers (Kellogg, 2002).

McDonald’s Fun Time! RestaurantPlayset comes with a food counter andminiature fries, burgers, pies and sodas,all emblazoned with the golden arches. Barbie, dressed as a McDonald’s clerk,and Kelly, shown eating a Happy Meal,are sold separately. Heinz’s Sizzlin’BBQ Play Set comes with a play grill,food and Heinz-branded ketchup, relish,pickles and BBQ sauce. M&M’s Minisserve as the fuselage for Hasbro’sAircraft Candy Copter (toy helicopter).

There are reading and counting booksfor toddlers and young children centeredaround brand-name foods. Booksinclude Kellogg’s Froot Loops! Counting

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“It’s not that these (snack-brand)books resemble advertising - they areadvertising,” stated Kate Klimo,publisher of Random House’sChildren’s Books Division (Kirkpatrick, 2000).

Fun Book and theM&M’s BrandBirthday Book. Reading theOreo CookieCounting Bookinvolves eating10 Oreos,which wouldprovide535 calories. The M&M’s andFroot Loops booksinclude cut-outcircles in which to placethe food. There also are children’sbooks based on Skittles, HersheyKisses, Necco Sweetheart candies,Cheerios, Sun-Maid raisins andPepperidge Farm Goldfish. For slightlyolder children, there are Reeses’sPieces: Count by Fives, Skittles RiddlesMath and the Hershey’s Milk ChocolateBar Fractions Book.

Snack-brand children’s books reinforcebrand identities and bring additionalmarketing into children’s lives. Althoughmany children are already consumingtoo many calories, these books createadditional opportunities for children toeat (often low-nutrition foods) by makingeating a part of reading.

Websites

Many food companies market theirproducts to children on the Internet anddirect children to their websites throughads and product packaging. Throughon-line games and activities, thewebsites can provide repeated brandexposure and positive interaction with abrand to help cultivate brand identity

and loyalty.

There is little separation betweenadvertising and content on food

company websites geared towardchildren. Food products, logos andcompany spokescharacters are built intothe games and other website content. Unlike television commercials, whichcan be ignored by muting the televisionor flipping channels, children arecompletely absorbed while playing an“advergame.” Advergames on foodcompany websites may be shortcompared to computer or consolegames, but they are long foradvertisements (Edwards, 2003).

Nabiscoworld.com features more than50 games, puzzles, screen savers andsweepstakes, each sponsored by abrand of Nabisco’s cookies and snacks.7 Some of the games are aimed attoddlers such as Where’s Teddy?, agame where toddlers find hidden TeddyGraham cookies (Nabisco, 2003a). Inthe Oreo Adventure game, whenchildren find the golden cookie jarsontheir journey to the Temple of theGolden Oreo, their “health” is reset to100% (Nabisco, 2003b). If children click

7 Based on a count of site map links at

<http://www.nabiscoworld.com> on May 25,

2003.

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Kellogg’s “Nutrition Camp” website

teaches children that calories are the

“action heros of the food world.”

on the Watch the Videos link on theChips Ahoy section of the Nabiscowebsite, they will see not movie clips,but rather television commercials forchips Ahoy! cookies (Nabisco, 2003c).Kraft Food’s Candystand.com includesnumerous advergames andsweepstakes promoting Life Saverscandy and receives more than 1 millionunique visitors a month (Edwards,2003). The Hershey Foods’ site hasgames, puzzles, recipes and a quiz totest children’s knowledge of Hershey’sads and products (Hershey Foods,2003). The Kellogg site includes a“nutrition camp” hosted by sugary cerealicons such as Tony the Tiger, ToucanSam and Dig’em, the Smacks frog(Kellogg Company, 2003). The siteteaches children that calories are “theaction heroes of the food world” and that“Kellogg’s cereals are loaded withcarbohydrates – your body’s preferredsource of energy.” The McDonald’skids’ website has an alphabet game,coloring activities, quizzes and riddles(McDonald’s Corporation, 2002c).

Stealth Advertising: ProductPlacement

Food companies also market productsto children through product placement(paying a fee or donating products to beincorporated into movies and televisionprograms). In the 2002 blockbusterSpider-Man, the hero used his newly-discovered web-spinning power toretrieve a Dr. Pepper. A Dr. Pepperspokesman said, “We felt it wouldattract audiences of all ages, andespecially teens and young adults”(Elliott, 2002). A futuristic-looking BigMac, fries and soda, featuring theMcDonald’s arches, pops out of theCortez children’s lunch box in SpyKid’s 2, and Heinz ketchup appears inWarner Bros.’ Scooby Doo movie.Canada Dry vending machinesappeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer(though in reality, Canada Dry vendingmachines do not exist) (Vista Group,2002b).

Children are unlikely to recognizeproduct placement as advertisingbecause it is an integral part of a movieor program and thus, children may beless skeptical of, and perhaps moresusceptible to, it than to more obviousforms of advertising. Placementagencies claim that product placementsmay have more credibility than paidadvertising and can provide impliedendorsements when an actor uses aproduct (Vista Group, 2002a).

In a study of adults, Gupta and Lord(1998) found that prominent productplacements were remembered betterthan advertisements of similar length,though advertisements were more

22

“Placements are shown in thecontext of the show. They cannotbe skipped over like print ads,‘zapped’ by VCR users, or ignoredby viewers,” Vista Group, a productplacement agency (2002a).

memorable than subtle productplacements.

Other studies also have found thatproduct placements are remembered,and one found that placements increasereported intention to purchase featuredbrands (Karrh, 1998).

Product placements create andreinforce social norms regarding theproduct. They also undermine parentalresponsibility and control because theycannot be skipped over and avoided. However, some argue that brandplacements are a necessary componentof programs and movies to make themrealistic, because brands are a part ofeveryday life.

The surge in sales of Reese’s Pieces(which was not a paid productplacement) after the original release ofE.T. sparked a significant increase inproduct placements (Beck, 2001). Kidscreen, an online marketingmagazine, wrote, “Product placement inmovies, particularly in kids’ and teenfilms, is now at an all-time high and hasbecome a mini-industry unto itself”(Beck, 2001).

The cost of product placements inmovies varies depending on how longand how prominently the product is

displayed, and whether a character inthe movie interacts with it (Avery &Ferraro, 2000). However, in manycases, especially for television, theclient provides the legal rights to use aproduct and/or extra product to thestudio, rather than a monetary fee.

Television stations are required by theFederal Communications Commissionto disclose product placements forwhich money or services are eitherdirectly or indirectly received orpromised, notifying the audience thatthe product was sponsored, paid for orprovided and by whom (FCC, 2002). However, such disclosures would be insmall print at the end of a televisionshow and are unlikely to be seen,especially by children. In addition, thepolicy does not require that a paymentmade to an agency for a productplacement be made public.

A study of prime time programs (whichwere not all aimed at children) on thefour major broadcast television stations(ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC) found about10 brand appearances per half hourprogram for situational comedies and 58brand appearances per half hour ofsports programming (Avery & Ferraro,2000).

Kid’s Clubs

Unlike real clubs where children cometogether around common interests tohave fun and make friends, kid’s clubsor birthday clubs hosted by foodcompanies act largely as vehicles foradvertising to children and sendingthem magazines (often with ads),coupons or catalogs (Consumers Union,1990). Burger King and Blimpie Subs

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Grocery stores are “designed for kids. That’s why you always see a kidtugging at someone’s arm saying ‘Buythis,’” said Greg Kahn, founder ofKahn Research Group (ElBoghdady,2003).

Belly Washers uses fun packaging and cartoon

characters to sell sugar water.

and Salads have kid’s clubs, andCalifornia Pizza Kitchen, BaskinRobbins and Denny’s restaurantssponsor birthday clubs. The BlimpieImportant Person (BIP) Club e-mailschildren regarding “coupon distribution,when (their) commercials will be airingon television, and all other Blimpieinformation” (Blimpie, 2003).

By joining the Baskin Robbins’ BirthdayClub, a child 12 or under is given acoupon for a free kids-sized ice creamcone on his birthday (as well as otheroffers from Baskin Robbins, Dunkin’Donuts and Togo’s throughout theyear). Denny’s restaurant offers a freekid’s entree and sundae for children’sbirthdays, but kids can only get their“free” meal with the purchase of aregularly priced adult entree (Denny’s,2003).

Packaging and Placement inSupermarkets and Other RetailStores

Even if parents manage to limit theirchildren’s exposure to televisionadvertising, there is a great deal of in-store food marketing aimed at children. Food manufacturers pay grocery stores“slotting” and “pay-to-stay” fees in orderto get and keep good shelf space(Dimitri, 2001; Federal TradeCommission, 2001). That is one reasonfor the large amount of space devotedto cereals, chips and candy in grocerystores and why children’s products areplaced so that kids can see and reachthem without assistance from a parent.

Food Packaging. The design offood packaging is carefully studied byfood companies and research firms.

Companies design their packages tostand out and appeal to children,carefully choosing the color, the productname, ease of use of the packaging,portion size and use of cartoon or othercharacters (Food Processing, 1997). Red has been shown to be a powerfulcolor, signaling sweetness and/orexcitement, and is used for thepackaging of products such as Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s Froot Loops(Lindner, 1999).

The fun and attention-getting colors ofHeinz’ Blastin’ Green and Funky Purpleketchup are, in part, responsible for thegrowth of Heinz market share since2000 (McGinn, 2003). The companyalso credits easier-to-squeezepackaging as important to the products’

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Cartoon or Other Characters on Food Packages

Company Product Characters

Nabisco Dora the Explorer Dora the Explorer

Teddy Grahams cookies

Edy’s Fish ‘n Chips ice cream Characters from Disney’s

Finding Nemo

General Mills fruit snacks Elm o, Snow W hite, Little

Mermaid, Cinderella

ConAgra Foods Kid Cuisine frozen dinners Powerpuff Girls, Fa irly

Odd Parents, W ild

Thornberrys, Rugrats

Nabisco Ritz crackers, Oreo cookies Hulk

Ore Ida Funky Fries Jimmy Neutron

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese SpongeBob Squarepants

Kellogg Spidey-Berry flavored Spider-Man

Pop-Tarts and Spider-Man

cereal

Kellogg cereals Disney’s Buzz Lightyear,

Mickey Mouse, W innie the

Pooh and the Lion King’s

Pumba, Timon and Simba

success (Eig, 2001). Easier-to-usepackaging appeals to children who oftenprefer to serve themselves and wantgreater independence and controlduring meals.

Many companies feature cartoon orother movie or television characters ontheir product packages to increase salesto children (see table). Food companiesalso design their own “spokes-characters” to sell products to children.

Mars uses the M&M’s characters, whichthe company claims are more popularthan Bart Simpson or Mickey Mouse(Mars, 2002). Kellogg has Tony theTiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, ToucanSam and Dig’em the frog to sell itscereal. General Mills uses the PillsburyDoughboy and the Trix rabbit. Frito-Laycreated Chester Cheetah to help sellCheetos cheese snacks. And of course,McDonald’s has the clown, RonaldMcDonald.

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Children’s favorite cartoon characters: food companies plaster them on

packages, feature them in ads and shape food into them.

“Studies have shown that the mereappearance of a character with aproduct can significantly alter a child'sperception of the product,” concludedthe Children’s Advertising ReviewUnit, the self-regulatory organizationof the advertising industry (2002).

Branding Children: Marketing Techniques

In addition to using a variety ofdifferent types of media andapproaches to reach childrenas described above, foodcompanies use a variety oftechniques to entice childrento buy or nag their parents forfood products. Thesetechniques range from tie-inswith movies, televisioncharacters or athletes tooffering toys or premiums withfoods to contests. Spokes-characters, Tie-ins andCelebrity Endorsements

Advertising and marketing aimed atchildren often utilize television andmovie characters, star musicians andathletes, taking advantage of children’sfamiliarity with, affection for oradmiration of them. Younger children

may not understand that spokespeopleare paid to promote products, and smallchildren may not even understand thatcartoon characters do not really exist. Using characters from movies andtelevision shows also blurs the line

between programs and advertising.As noted above, there are numerousexamples of tie-ins on food productpackages. Coca-Cola’s tie-in to theHarry Potter movies involves not onlyimages from the movies on productpackages, but also television, radio andprint advertising, contests, games, awebsite, in-store displays and a literacyand reading campaign (Lippman &McKay, 2001). The Hulk, Spider-Manand Captain America are enlisted to sellOriginal Brand Popsicles in ads inNickelodeon magazine (Nickelodeon,2003). Singer, actress and model,Beyoncé, stars in a Pepsi advertisingcampaign.

There are about 10 to 12 marketing tie-ins between children’s movies and fast-food or other retail establishments eachyear (Lippman & McKay, 2001). BaskinRobbins’ ice cream flavor of the monthis tied to Dreamworks’ movie, Sinbad:Legend of the Seven Seas. Applebee’sNeighborhood Grill and Bar’s marketinguses a tie-in to Jonah: A VeggieTalesMovie.

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Restaurants use tie-ins to popular movies to sell low-nutrition

foods to children.

Fast-food companies feature movies intheir television ads, conduct contestsand give away movie-based toys as partof children’s meal packages, likeMcDonald’s Happy Meals. McDonald’sand the Walt Disney Company signed a10-year exclusive contract in 1996, andpromotions have included tie-ins withMonsters Inc., Snow White and theSeven Dwarfs, Tarzan and Peter Pan inReturn to Never Land. Burger King has

deals with DreamWorks studio andNickelodeon (Ordonez, 2001). Tie-insat Burger King have included the moviesRugrats Go Wild, Spirit: Stallion of theCimarron, Shrek and Pokemon 2000, aswell as the television programs Rugrats,The Simpsons and SpongeBobSquarepants.

The use of animation in ads also mayblur the line between advertising andprogramming. Kotz and Story (1994)found that 28% of food advertisements

aimed at children are animated and48% are partially animated.

Enticing Children with Toys,Premiums, Games and Contests

Premiums and other giveaways, gamesand contests are used to interestchildren in food for reasons unrelated tothe food itself. In many cases, thepremium seems to be the primary

enticement for the purchase,though children end up eatingthe food as well, which is oftenhigh in calories and low innutrients. A television ad forMcDonald’s Happy Meals tiedto the Peter Pan movie sequel,Return to Never Land, focusedon a boy and girl playing withthe toys, rather than on thefood.

To keep children coming back,the toys that come withchildren’s meals at fast-foodrestaurants changeperiodically. McDonald’s had14 different toy sets for HappyMeals in 2001 and 16 differentsets in 2000 (McDonald’s,2002d). The toys are based

on children’s movies or television shows(as discussed above) or are populartoys like Bratz dolls, Teenie BeanieBabies, Hot Wheels cars, Hello Kitty,LEGOs and Barbie dolls. To encouragerepeat business, there are usually six toeight toys to collect, which are availablefor only three to four weeks (requiringparents to bring their children to therestaurant about twice a week in orderto collect all the toys).

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Products-for-points schemes often

require buying large amounts of

nutrient-poor foods to trade for

modest toys or other premiums.

Encouraging children to pester theirparents to frequent McDonald’s isimportant to business. Happy Mealsales make up 20% of McDonald’stransactions in the U.S. (about$3.5 billion in annual revenue) (Leung & Vranica, 2003). McDonald’s also relieson sales to the accompanying parent.The average transaction involvingHappy Meals is 50% greater than orderswithout Happy Meals (Leung &Vranica,2003). To build on that success,McDonald’s introduced the Mighty KidsMeal, with more food toappeal to older children.

Companies also use toys and othergive-aways to sell packaged foods insupermarkets. Premiums have includedbeauty kits (Brach’s Rapunzel fruitsnacks), trading cards (Nabisco Ritzcrackers), an E.T. Finger Flashlight(Post’s Oreo O’s cereal), Sesame Streetdolls (in Kellogg’s Rice Krispies), swimgoggles (Kellogg’s Eggo waffles) andMickey Mouse Bobble Head toys(Kellogg’s Cocoa Rice Krispies andKeebler cookies).

In other cases, children are required topurchase a product many times in orderto obtain the toy or other premium. Under these schemes, children typicallycollect UPC symbols or other proofs ofpurchase to trade for the premiums. Frito-Lay has “Ploids” (billed as “TheOfficial Currency of Fun”) on its snackpackages, which can be redeemed forprizes at ePloids.com. However, sincea child gets about one Ploid per one-ounce serving, and the premiumsranged in “cost” from 25 Ploids forsneaker stickers to 600 Ploids for a setof five electronic game pens (Frito-Lay,2002), it seems more economical and

sensible for parents to go to a retailstore and purchase the toys theirchildren want rather than buy the largeamounts of nutrient-poor foods requiredto earn them by collecting Ploids. Morerecently, Frito-Lay moved to an auctionformat. A $25 Blockbuster gift card wasauctioned for 2,046 Ploids and a Lavalamp went for 1,440 Ploids (Frito-Lay,2003). Extra Ploids are available onmulti-packs, encouraging children to asktheir parents to buy in bulk.

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A Tony’s pizza ad reads, “As if you needanother reason to eat pizza” and “EatPizza. Get Points. Log On. Bid or BuyStuff.” The ad features a child stuffinghis face with pizza and holding a toy. The Original Brand Popsicle, Kool-Aid,and Mega Warheads candy also haveused premiums for points marketing.

Food as Entertainment. Sometimes the food is designed to beused in play or to be a toy itself. Ad Agereported that Kraft’s Rip-Ums peel-and-eat cheese line will appeal to childrenbecause of the “play value of theproduct” (Thompson, 2002). Nabiscomanufactures fruit snacks called Fun

Fruits Gamesters which are gamepieces for playing tic-tac-toe. Hershey’sCandy Bar Factory is a chocolate barwith spaces for peanut butter filling,frosting, sprinkles and cookie bits thatare included. Once put together, it hasabout five times the calories and fat of aregular Hershey’s bar (440 caloriesversus 90 calories). Ads for Oscar

Mayer’s 260-calorie FudgeBrownie Lunchables instructchildren to “Slap on somefrosting” and decorate theirbrownie and then ask, “Howfun is that?” (Girl’s Life, 2001;Nickelodeon, 2001). MysteryJell-O and Kool-Aid MagicTwists drink mix change intosurprise colors.

M&M’s Minis are available in aToy and Pogo Dispenser tube. One ad for M&M’s Minis was agame in which children slamdown the M&M’s tube and thechild who dispenses the mostMinis gets to eat all the candy(Sports Illustrated for Kids,2001). Kid Cuisine’s ad inNickelodeon magazine is agame called Race to theCommvee (Nickelodeon, 2003)and a Necco candies ad is afind-the-differences game(Disney Adventures, 2003). Interaction with a brand whileplaying a game helps children

to remember the product and brand, aswell as cultivate positive attitudes aboutit.