The United States food and beverage industry has increased the amount of advertising that intensively and aggressively targets children through multiple channels.
The advertisements for products predominantly high in sugar and fat have increased and have had an effect on the major health epidemic in the US of childhood obesity, and as such are inconsistent with national dietary recommendations.
Marketing companies are exploring new creative techniques to reach their target audience, young children, through promotions, contests, and incentive programs.
The Fragmentation Phase resulted in a high margin with low volume due to divided geographic locations across the United States with little opportunity for mass distribution.
The Unification Phase resulted in low margins and high volume and was the time that companies including Heinz, Quaker Oats, and Coca-Cola were founded and distributed across the nation.
[12] By the time children reach 9–10 years of age they may possess the cognitive ability to understand and comprehend advertisements, but this does not necessarily mean they will.
Owing to their limited skills and maturity compared to adults, children are unable to take full responsibility for their actions and self-regulate effectively.
For example, McDonald's stands out as a frontrunner among fast food chains in targeting young children through television advertising.
In 2016, McDonald's spent $32.9 million to television advertisements tailored explicitly for Happy Meals, designed with children in mind.
Moreover, McDonald's outpaces its competitors by employing strategies that resonate with children, such as providing complimentary cartoon characters and animal figurines in their Happy Meals.
Along with this, a smaller percentage, around 40%, will receive further incentives such as donated equipment if total revenues reach a specified amount as stated in their contract.
Many schools in the US use programs that are almost always sponsored by local restaurant corporations, most commonly McDonald's and Pizza Hut, as educational tools to promote reading.
[24] Other companies that are involved in this type of advertising are Campbell's (Prego Thickness Experiment), Domino's (Encounter Math), and the National Potato Board (Count Your Chips).
[22] For food marketers and advertisers to effectively reach the increasing number of children on the web, they have had to come up with new and creative ways to engage them.
[24] The release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005 had sixteen different food promotions with twenty-five different products.
[25] In 2005 the release of King Kong promoted the giant gorilla on over 18 million boxes of cereal, including Apple Jacks and Corn Pops.
[22] In 2004, Coca-Cola paid an estimated $20 million to have their product placed in American Idol, which had consistently been rated one of the top 10 shows for children between the ages of two and eleven years old.
[35] The guidelines set by CARU apply to all types of children's advertising but hold no actual legal authority and is dependent on voluntary compliance.
These seven basic guidelines touch upon areas such as product presentation and claims, endorsement and promotion by program characters, sales pressures, disclosures and disclaimers and safety concerns.
ACT advised both the FCC and FTC that it would be in the best interest of children if advertisements directed towards them were either prohibited or greatly limited.
[38] Four years later the FCC passed a law stating that only a specific amount of advertising time, 12 minutes/hour on weekdays and 9.5 minutes/hour on weekends, would be allowed to air during children's programming.
[39] CARU attempted to revise its guidelines in 1997 to include the internet but with its rapid development of new techniques they have proven to be substantially weaker than those that have been applied to television.
[39] Countries around the world outside of the United States have taken measures to improve the marketing industry how it targets children for food advertisements.
[41] Other countries situated in Europe, Australia, Malaysia, Korea and Russia have less harsh national laws that limit advertisements from playing at specific times.