#children's advertising

[exclamaquest]

This is a very basic overview of the 1980 KidVid scandal, an important part of advertising regulation history and a good illustration of just how much power ad lobbyists hold. I recommend this or this (both PDFs, the second is from the FTC) to get a more in depth look at what went wrong.

In the late 70s and into 1980, there was a push from the Federal Trade Commission to amp up the regulations around what foods could be advertised on children's television, with a special emphasis on sugary foods. They were also concerned about ads that portrayed vitamins as candy-like that could encourage children to eat far more than they should.

The FTC requested a total ban on ads "for any product which is directed to, or seen by, audiences composed of a significant proportion of children who are too young to understand the selling purpose of or otherwise comprehend or evaluate the advertising [in this case, eight, though the limit was later lowered to six]" targeting "sugared food products directed to, or seen by, audiences composed of a significant proportion of older children".

This may seem harsh, but as you read, keep in mind it's still a far cry from the older, firmer regulations prohibiting any advertisement at all. Additionally, while eight may seem old, there were studies done that clearly showed that children could not reliably differentiate normal programming from ad segments.

Another piece of the most damning evidence used in the case came straight from the horse's mouth: Among other things, an advertising executive was caught on tape saying, "When you sell a woman on a product and she goes into the store and finds your brand isn’t in stock she’ll probably forget about it. But when you sell a kid on your product, if he can’t get it he will throw himself on the floor, stamp his feet, and cry. You can’t get a reaction like that out of an adult."

But this was during the leadup to Reagan's term and so, of course, it ended in misery. Advertisers, emboldened by Reagan's support of deregulating their industry and aggravated the the FTC's recent aggressive rulemaking, wrote scathing op-eds in national newspapers. They branded the FTC a "nanny" and put forth the argument that because parents were the ones making the final purchasing decision, there was no deception of consumers going on, and therefore it was an overreach of the FTC's rulemaking power. They even postured parents supporting the new regulations as a sign of weakness and inability to control their children.

Of course, these arguments fall apart under the slightest bit of pressure, but that didn't matter to advertisers or to newspapers. To them, every new rule on advertising was another chunk of money taken out of their lucrative ad placements. Even the Washington Post wrote against it.

There's a lot more to why this failed, including it happening at the same time as other FTC rulings that angered politically powerful businesses like funerary services, large used-car dealerships, and the tobacco industry, but that would take up a whole history book. Instead, it's important to know that the FTC had many, many enemies in very powerful positions, and this lead to the Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1980.

The 1980 act cut the FTC off at the knees. It now required stringent congressional oversight, public announcements of proposed rules, and explicitly prohibited the FTC from any rulemaking involving children's advertising.

The FTC was burned so badly that on May 1, 1980, after the landmark Civiletti Opinion, they shut their doors. Luckily, funding was reappropriated relatively quickly thanks to President Carter's novel interpretation of the 1884 Antideficiency Act (the same one used by Attorney General Civiletti to shut it down in the first place) and the shutdown only lasted a day, but the wounds were there.

Even today, the FTC is loathe to touch children's television, instead focusing on advertising in apps and websites. The KidVid scandal is part of what enabled Reagan to enact such strict deregulation, and is a major contributing factor to the state of advertising as it is currently.

It's as fascinating as it is horrific, and it's something that's essential to know. Both the degree to which lobbyists were able to influence public opinion and public policy and the extent of the aftershocks of the KidVid scandal are very important to understanding today's advertising regulations and the FTC's position in them.

I tried to simplify this as much as I could, but there was a lot to cover, and this is only a fraction of everything that happened during the scandal. The two PDFs I linked in the first paragraph (this and this) are great resources for understanding more about what happened, and if you're interested, I'd highly recommend you read them.

If there's any questions, I'll do my best to answer them, but please bear in mind I'm neither a historian nor a lawyer, just a guy with a special interest.

[good-advice-ganondorf]

[vintagepromotions]

Advertisement for Crayola crayons (1980).

[alaa-pales]

Skin infections and diseases are taking a huge place in here💔👇

When people can turn away from the suffering of babies, you know the world is truly evil and broken.

Save our children from this war. Link for donation 👇🔗🍉

Verified by OOB master list line 395 👍

Sending you lots of love and hugs for standing with us���🇸🍉🙏

@fairuzfan @sayruq @longlivepalestina @nabulsi @self-hating-zionist @thenewgothictwice @el-shab-hussein @risoria @palipunk @palestine @intersectionalpraxis @fallahifag @sealuai @malcriada @mangocheesecakes @youdontknowwhotfiamm @farcillesbian @stil-lindigo @apsswan @star-and-space-ace @rainbowywitch @marscodes @oursapphirestar @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @boyvandal-blog @the-bastard-king @13ag21k @agentfascinateur

@olovelymoon @hollytanaka @neptunerings @newsfrom-theworld @falasteen7urrah @lilliputian-thing @scrilladge @damonalbarnsgf

[goshyesvintageads]

Texaco Inc, 1960

[nemfrog]

Plastics, American as Apple Pie. Dow Chemical ad. Saturday Evening Post. March 11, 1950.

Science History Institute

[onionowt]

Made another sky oc redesign(The previous one annoyed me)

I wanted to give them a fishing net like cape, but then I just accepted that I don’t know how to draw capes

Btw! I'm participating in artfight this year, so if anyone is interested:

https://artfight.net/~OnionOWT

👀

[vintage-sweden]

Unknown child, 1958, Sweden. Image was used in advertising for a yarn company.

[worstloki]

zionists don't realise it but saying 'this is the most jewish thing ever!' and 'people hate when jews do something clever' and and reporting it as 'innovative methods which carried out a precise military operation' and joking about ongoing attacks using everyday technology to injure thousands of civilians is not. good

[dandyads]

Esprit Kids, 1985

[misforgotten2]

Iwanta kick that little elf’s ass. What is he, the circumcision fairy?

Parents Magazine - 1953

[lisamarie-vee]

[cerealkiller740]

1953 Betty Crocker ad

[vintagepromotions]

Advertisement for Play-Doh activity sets (1981).

[alaa-pales]

DAILY UPDATE‼💔

The spread of skin diseases among children in displacement camps due to the lack of hygiene tools and water😥💔

Save our children from this war. Link for donation 👇🔗🍉

Verified by OOB master list line 395 👍

Sending you lots of love and hugs for standing with us🇵🇸🍉🙏

@fairuzfan @sayruq @longlivepalestina @nabulsi @self-hating-zionist @thenewgothictwice @el-shab-hussein @risoria @palipunk @palestine @intersectionalpraxis @fallahifag @sealuai @malcriada @mangocheesecakes @youdontknowwhotfiamm @farcillesbian @stil-lindigo @apsswan @star-and-space-ace @rainbowywitch @marscodes @oursapphirestar @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @boyvandal-blog @the-bastard-king @13ag21k @agentfascinateur

[kply-industries]

Rare footage of a BMW using it's turn signal. (1989, disputed)