Beverage Industry Notes Shift in Television Food Advertising to Children

According to the study, between 2003 and 2007, beverage ads directed at children and adolescents continued to decrease "by about 27 percent to 30 percent across age groups" and there were "substantial decreases in exposure to ads" for sugar-sweetened beverages.

6 Jul 2010 --- The findings of a paper posted online in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine demonstrate the dedication of the non-alcoholic beverage industry to responsible advertising and marketing practices. According to the study, between 2003 and 2007, beverage ads directed at children and adolescents continued to decrease "by about 27 percent to 30 percent across age groups" and there were "substantial decreases in exposure to ads" for sugar-sweetened beverages.

"The beverage industry is delivering for America's children, and their parents, through its dedication to responsible advertising and marketing practices," Susan K. Neely, ABA president and CEO, said. "We're helping parents and families in the way we advertise and market our products as well as significantly changing the product mix we offer in schools. It's all part of a commitment by our member companies to doing our part to help our children learn to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle."

Our members follow responsible practices regarding advertising and marketing to children that recognize the central role that parents and other caregivers should play in making choices for their children. Under these policies, the companies do not advertise full-calorie soft drinks on television programs predominantly aimed at children under 12.

Our members also follow the guidelines of the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the self-regulatory body for children's advertising, which apply to all of our beverages. In addition, some ABA members were among the first to sign on to the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a program that increases the percentage of advertising for products that meet certain nutrition standards directed at children under 12, as well as advertising messages that encourage good nutrition and healthy lifestyles. The American Beverage Association also announced its support for the International Council of Beverages Associations Guidelines on Marketing to Children, developed in 2008. These guidelines set a standard whereby beverage companies voluntarily agreed to eliminate the advertising and marketing of a wide range of beverages, including carbonated soft drinks, to any audience that is comprised predominantly of children under 12. This policy includes paid media outlets such as TV, radio, print, Internet, phone messaging and cinema, including product placement."

The beverage industry takes its commitment to being part of the solution to childhood obesity very seriously. The industry has already delivered on its commitment to change the beverage landscape in America's schools by removing full-calorie soft drinks and providing more lower-calorie, nutritious, smaller portion beverage options. “With the School Beverage Guidelines, our companies have slashed beverage calories shipped to schools by 88 percent since 2004,” the American Beverage Association claims.

In support of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" anti-obesity campaign, the beverage industry has committed to clearly display the calories in all our beverages on the front of the can or bottle as well as on our vending and fountain machines. “This means that within two years, every time consumers touch one of our beverages they will have the calorie information at their fingertips at every point of purchase,” the group says.

“Our industry also continues to innovate, bringing even more no- and low-calorie and portion-controlled beverage choices to market. In fact, since 1998 there has been a 21 percent reduction in beverage calories in the marketplace, due to this innovation,” the American Beverage Association notes.