For Release:
June 28, 2002 FTC Issues Third Follow-Up Report on the Marketing of Violent Entertainment to Children
Report Shows Progress in Ad Disclosures
by Marketers of Movies, Music, and Electronic Games; Compliance with Movie and Game
Industry Restrictions on Ad Placements; but Continued Placement of Ads in Some Media with
Large Teen Audiences
The Federal Trade Commission today
issued the third follow-up review of its September 2000 Report to Congress, Marketing
Violent Entertainment to Children: A Review of Self-Regulation and Industry Practices in
the Motion Picture, Music Recording and Electronic Game Industries. This new Report
responds to requests from the Congressional Committees on Appropriations and from 18
members of the House of Representatives.
To prepare this Report, the Commission tracked advertising
placements in media popular with youth, and reviewed advertisements in major media --
print, television, and the Internet -- to determine if they included clear and prominent
rating and labeling information. The Commission also reviewed retail packaging for
products in each of the three industries to assess the extent to which packaging complied
with self-regulatory guidelines for each industry, and included clear and prominent rating
and labeling information.
The follow-up Report shows continued progress by the movie
and electronic game industries and improvement by the music industry in including rating
information in advertising that would help parents identify material that may be
inappropriate for their children. The report also shows compliance by the movie and
electronic games industries with industry promises to limit ad placements, although the
Report finds advertisements by all three industries continue to appear in some media
popular with teens.
Specific findings include:
- Movies
The most-recent FTC Report finds that, as in the past two follow-up reports, the
movie industry places virtually no ads for R-rated movies in popular teen magazines. It
also finds continued compliance with an industry commitment not to advertise R-rated
movies in venues with a youth audience share of 35 percent or more. However, studios
continue to advertise R-rated movies in television shows that are popular with teens. The
Report states that while movie studios continue to make progress in including rating
information and rating reasons in ads, some studios' rating disclosures are difficult to
read.
- Music
The Report concludes that the music industry continues to advertise music with
explicit content on television shows and in print magazines popular with teens, but finds
that the industry has made progress in placing the Parental Advisory Label in industry
advertising. It notes that although the music industry's labeling program does not require
that advertisers indicate why the label contains a parental advisory, one company, BMG
Entertainment, has announced an initiative to specify on the label whether violent
content, sexual content or strong language is responsible for the Parental Advisory Label,
and to include the same information in its advertising.
- Electronic Games
The Report finds widespread compliance in the game industry with standards
limiting ads for M-rated games in media with audiences containing a high percentage of
teens - 35 percent for television and 45 percent for print. However, the Commission found
examples of ads on some television programs popular with teens and in some youth-oriented
game enthusiast magazines. The Report finds that the electronic game industry provides
rating information prominently in most forms of advertising. The Report concludes that
although some areas still could be improved, for example content descriptors in television
advertising, there is much in the game industry's rating disclosure requirements that
merits duplication by others.
The Commission will monitor the entertainment industry's marketing
practices through next year, and will then issue a follow-up report.
The Commission vote to issue the Report was 5-0, with Commissioner Orson
Swindle issuing a concurring statement.
In his statement, Commissioner Swindle said, "I
support continued Commission monitoring and reporting regarding the marketing of violent
entertainment to children. With our reports, we contribute helpful information to the
public debate on the extent to which such marketing targets children and teens and the
means by which industry can empower parents to make and enforce informed decisions about
appropriate entertainment for their children."
"Nonetheless, the First Amendment appropriately limits what the
government can do. Despite our scrutiny, the music industry continues to target young
people explicitly in its advertising and, for the most part, refuses to provide
content-based information that could help consumers. The motion picture and electronic
game industries have acted far more responsibly in improving their self-regulatory
programs, yet continue to allow advertising of R-rated movies and M-rated games in venues
that attract large numbers of teens. To varying degrees, all of the industries fall short
in effectively communicating the rating or label as well as the reasons for it. What
becomes clear as we continue with our series of reports is that if the public wants a
change in these marketing practices, the public must demand that change
and express its wishes in the currency of the marketplace." |