Toys And The Truth

The Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus was created in 1974 to ensure that advertising directed to children under the age of 12 was both truthful and appropriate. Decades later, CARU's mission remains the same, but the business of marketing products to children has changed dramatically since CARU was first chartered.

Today, simple toys and games are sold alongside a host of products that didn't exist in 1974—complex consumer electronics, playthings that offer interactive components and products that are purchased via membership websites, to name but a few. But despite the increasing complexity of the toys now available, and the myriad new ways and locations to advertise their availability in today's world, CARU's founding principles remain the same: advertising directed to children under 12 must meet high standards of truthfulness, accuracy, fairness and appropriateness.

Given that environment, what exactly does that mean for toy makers and others who advertise to children?

It means that companies advertising toy products should, as they plan and develop advertising campaigns, give careful consideration to CARU's self-regulatory guidelines, which represent the collective wisdom of the advertising industry on how to deal fairly with a child audience.

In addressing advertising for toys, CARU's guidelines, available online, specifically recommend that:

1. Toy commercials should not create unreasonable performance expectations for children. Toys shown in a commercial should look and act as they would if children were playing with them. (Product Presentations and Claims, Section D 2 (b) 1.)
2. Generated Imagery (CGI) and animation are features of many contemporary commercials. CARU recommends advertisers take care not to “blur” the lines between reality and fantasy to assure that children viewing the advertising understand where the animation ends and real product performance begins. (Product Presentations and Claims, D 2 (b) 3.)
3. Toy commercials should have clear and prominent disclosures to assure that consumers understand what accessories come with an initial purchase and understand, as well, whether toys are sold separately or available only as part of a larger playset. In general, disclosures should be made both by audio and visually. (Material Disclosures and Disclaimers, D 2 (c) 3.)
4. Children's safety is a major concern of CARU. Its guidelines require depiction of adult supervision in advertising for certain products like trampolines, and the use of recommended safety equipment in others—like wearing bicycle helmets when riding a bike. (Unsafe and Inappropriate advertising to children, D 2 (i).)
5. Products and content should not be inappropriate for young children. (Unsafe and Inappropriate advertising to children. D 2 (i).)

In 2005 CARU began expanding its pre-screening capability, a service to CARU supporters. In 2007, CARU pre-screened more than 300 advertisements directed to children under the age of 12, triple the number of prescreening requests handled in 2005.

The pre-screening process allows CARU to assist advertisers in identifying any potential problems with a child-targeted advertisement before that advertisement goes into production.

Advertising industry self-regulation allows companies the opportunity to resolve concerns without the intervention of government regulation. In addition, self-regulation is far less costly than litigation. But the primary value of industry self-regulation is that it draws upon the collective expertise of the industry to develop solutions to common problems. CARU actively seeks dialogue with the children's advertising industry and welcomes new voices to the discussion.

Advertising self-regulation is made possible by financial support from the advertising industry. For more information about CARU, visit CARU.org.