Food outlets targeting kids via internet

Cindy Kiro

Children are being targeted by covert food advertising on internet websites.

Interactive games, activities, downloadable screensavers and "fun recipes" aimed at young people are being used by fast-food and confectionery companies, despite rising concern over child obesity.

The Children's Commissioner, Cindy Kiro, said interactive websites were a concern as they "make the message far more powerful".

"I would be very worried about anything that's commercial advertising masquerading as anything else. What you're effectively doing is trying to make them into consumers from an earlier time," she said.

McDonald's has a games site, Ronald.com, it has dubbed "the internet's land for fun".

Children can play the McNugget Moonbounce, a simple game involving slinging McNuggets into sauce.

McDonald's communications manager Joanna Redfern-Hardisty said the McNugget Moonbounce was "a fun activity available on the site should people wish to use it".

"We certainly don't promote it in any way."

Most of McDonald's "Happy Meal dollars" were spent on healthy advertising campaigns to encourage parents to buy items such as "apple bags" for their children, she said.

Anchor has a web world called Anchorville, where children can play games such as Milk Wars, Egg Hoof and Smoothie Bar using Anchor products.

The Cadbury website offers a "Cadbury Fun Kids Recipe" section where children can learn to make chocolate popcorn, fudge and "super chocolate chip marshmallow fudge".

There is a separate Cadbury Land games site that requires membership and a password to enter.

"It would be an absolute tragedy if we allow food marketing to continue as we allowed tobacco advertising to continue," said Professor Janet Hoek of the marketing department at Massey University.

"Children are playing with these things and seeing them as part of their normal context."

Professor Hoek said she would like to see some form of regulation.

"Self-regulation didn't work with tobacco. The industry's had quite a long time to get itself in order and although it's making the right noises, I'm not sure it has been followed through."

PhD graduate Dr David Stuart, who looked into school-business relationships for his thesis, said there "has been a collapse of the clear categories of entertainment, advertising and education.

"It's trying to establish a community of kids; appealing to kids' sense of naughtiness or deviance on their parents' wishes."

Hillary Souter, of the Advertising Standards Authority, said she received 40 complaints about websites last year.

"To my knowledge we haven't had a complaint about product placement," she said.

If the board was to receive a complaint regarding covert advertising, it would take it "very seriously".

"We've recently had complaints about text messaging promotions."

The authority's child advertising code states that "advertisements must be clearly recognisable as such by children".

The covert advertising trend is not unique to New Zealand. Companies in Britain and Australia have also used the web and mobile phones to promote foods to children.

Masterfoods in Britain owned a celebrity gossip website regularly featured in teen magazines that often referred to Starburst sweets, according to an article in the Independent.

The site has since shut down.

Said Dr Stuart: "I would strongly recommend any government to take a close look at patterns of consumption of interactive websites."