Yesterday, we were talking about the food regulations the South African government was planning in order to prevent food manufacturers from enticing kids with freebies. Well, like I said, the manufacturers always find a way out to lure kids their way and this time they are cashing in on the popularity of social networks and using internet as a medium to attract them.
Media regulator Ofcom has banned the advertisements of food products that are high in fat, salt or sugar ie. junk food, from being aired in the prime time especially during programs that appeal to kids aged between four and nine. This ban will be extended to programs aimed for children up to fifteen year old next January.
So, leading brands like McDonalds, Starburst and Skittles have found social networking sites and chat programs as a route to reach their target – kids. So, popular sites such as Bebo and Chat programs like Widows live messenger are the new brand building platforms for these manufacturers.
Skittles spent a six figure sum to create a profile on the popular social networking site Bebo and the profile seems to be quite popular attracting more than 3,500 friends and 50,000 profile views.
McDonalds own website has games especially for kids enticing them to return more often. The idea here is to let kids know about the latest offerings by the manufacturer.
Some manufacturers have created virtual ‘branded buddies’ and kids are urged to add them in their friends list on chat messengers. The virtual buddies are used to update the kids about the brand’s latest activity.
While advertising to kids on the television is regulated, the internet is still an unregulated area making it easier for the manufacturers to exploit this un-policed area. In fact, kids are spending more time online rather than the television these days and the food brands are laughing all the way to the banks.
So, the so-called ban on junk-food advertising on television has only boomeranged and the authorities better wake up and do something before things go out of hands!
