| ■ Food Makers Pledge to Limit Ads Aimed at Children | 2007.07.23 |
| Eleven prominent food and drink companies have agreed to limit U.S. advertising aimed at children under 12, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The announcement came just before the start of hearings Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission into whether the growing child obesity problem could be curtailed by more responsible marketing practices, the wire service said. The food makers included: Campbell Soup Co., General Mills, PepsiCo, McDonald's, Cadbury Adams, the Coca-Cola Co., The Hershey Co., Unilever, Masterfoods, Kellogg Co., and Kraft Foods, the AP reported. The self-imposed rules included a pledge by seven of the companies to no longer use characters made popular by television and movies in their ads aimed at children, unless the ads promoted healthier products. The voluntary commitments also affect advertising in schools and online advertising aimed at youngsters. The rules should be fully implemented by the end of next year, the AP said. |