REPORTS

Kids in the Crosshairs:

Children Still Targeted in Marketing of Adult Rated Entertainment

The Parents Television Council has found that motion picture studios and video game publishers continue to market adult-oriented entertainment directly to children, this despite industry and trade association assurances that they would cease such behavior.

The PTC just completed a thorough analysis of the placement of both R-rated movie advertisements and M-rated video game advertisements on network television during the first two hours of prime time. The data reveals a marked increase in the number of network TV advertisements for adult-rated entertainment during the first hour of prime time, when children are most likely to see them.

A September 2000 report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that movie studios, video game publishers, and music labels were going out of their way to interest under-aged children in their adult-rated products.

The Commission's report showed, for example, that movie studios repeatedly advertised R-rated films on television programs that were rated highest among teens or where teens comprised the largest share of the audience. In addition, internal memos discovered by the Commission referred to the target market for one video game as "males 17 - 34 due to M rating[*]" and then in parentheses stated: "(the true target is males 12 - 34)."

Understandably, that report set off a chain reaction: congressional hearings, more reports, policy changes, promises to reform.

Now, more than three years after that report was published, one has to wonder if anything has really changed at all.  Advertisements for the 8 Mile DVD (which was rated R) ran repeatedly on Fox's American Idol, which at the time was the highest rated show on television among children ages 2-17.  Now that there is not as much political pressure on the entertainment industry to curb their marketing to children, it seems that they've gone back to their old tricks.

In June of 2002, the PTC released a report on the marketing of M-rated video games to children through television commercials.  That report showed that 30% of video game advertisements during the Family Hour (the first hour of prime time, 8-9:00 p.m. ET/PT) and on teen-targeted shows outside of the Family Hour were for M-rated video games, and that all of the advertisements for M-rated video games appeared on Fox, the WB, and UPN. 

Later that same year, the PTC released a similar report analyzing the placement of ads for R-rated movies.  The PTC found that that nearly one out of four movie ads during the Family Hour were for R-rated movies, and that NBC, Fox, and UPN – three networks known for targeting a younger demographic -- were the worst offenders. 

The PTC just completed a thorough analysis on the placement of both R-rated movie ads and M-rated video game ads during the first two hours of prime time for the period of January 1, 2003 to October 17, 2003.

Rather than getting better, several of the networks are actually getting worse, putting more advertisements for adult-rated entertainment during the first hour of prime time, when children are most likely to see them.

The PTC's most recent analysis shows that Fox is by far the worst network: 63% of the ads for M-rated video games and 36% of all the ads for R-rated movies that aired during the Family Hour ran on that network.  Two out of every three ads for M-rated video games, and nearly one out of every three ads for R-rated films that aired during the second hour of prime time, aired on Fox. 

Major Findings:

Video Games

• Fox, the WB, and UPN continue to be the only networks to air ads for M-rated video games during the Family Hour. 

• During the Family Hour, 28% of all video games advertised were rated M.  During the second hour of prime time, 37% of video game advertisements were for M-rated games. 

• 56% of video games advertised on UPN and 43% of games advertised on Fox during the Family Hour were for M-rated games. Both numbers are up from last year.

• The WB has shown some improvement in the past year.  In this study period, only 7% of family hour video game ads were for M-rated games.   

Movies

• 27% of all movie ads during the Family Hour are for R-rated movies.  That figure is up 4% from last year,

• Not only are NBC, Fox, and UPN still airing the most ads for R-rated films during the Family Hour, they've all gotten worse since 2002. 

  • In 2002, 26% of the movie ads on NBC during the Family Hour were for R-rated films.  In 2003, 33% of Family Hour movie ads on NBC were for R-rated films.

  • In 2002, 24% of movie ads during the Family Hour on Fox were for R-rated films.  In 2003, that number jumped to 31%.

  • In 2002, 33% of movie ads during the Family Hour on UPN were for R-rated films.  In 2003, that number increased to 38%.

• Only 9% of ABC's Family Hour movie ads were for R-rated films. 91% of all the movie ads that aired on ABC during the Family Hour were for films rated G, PG, or PG-13. 

• 74% of all the movie ads that aired on CBS during the Family Hour were for films rated G, PG, or PG-13.  26% were for R-rated films.

• 81% of all the movie ads that aired on the WB during the Family Hour were for films rated G, PG, or PG-13.  18% were for R-rated films. 

• 77% of all Family Hour ads for R-rated movies aired on NBC, Fox, or UPN. Only 4% of all Family Hour ads for R-rated movies aired on ABC, 7% aired on CBS, 12% aired on the WB.

A short time after the Commission released its first report on the marketing of adult entertainment to children, the MPAA and the ESRB came out with new marketing guidelines.  The MPAA's new guidelines read: "Each company will review its marketing and advertising practices in order to further the goal of not inappropriately specifically targeting children in its advertising of films rated R for violence." The ESRB's guidelines read: "Companies must not specifically target advertising for entertainment software product rated T, M or AO (adults only) to consumers for whom the product is not rated as appropriate." Moreover, networks and film studios alike promised to do a better job of limiting children's exposure to ads for adult-rated entertainment, but clearly many of those promises have been forgotten. 

It is intellectually dishonest for entertainment industry to say they're not marketing adult fare to teens when they use subversive tactics to ensure their ads are reaching younger audiences.  Tactics like placing ads for the 8 Mile DVD on Fox's American Idol and partnering with Teen People to give away free copies the DVD; or creating T-rated video games[†], like Enter the Matrix to interest teens in the R-rated film trilogy.   

If the entertainment industry were serious about their material not getting into the hands of children, they would be the ones calling on retailers to not sell their products to anyone under the age of 18.

The burden of responsibility doesn't fall solely on the entertainment industry.  Every retailer needs to adopt strict guidelines regarding the sale of M-rated video games, R-rated movies, and music with explicit lyric content to children under the age of 18.  Although some companies have already taken some positive steps in this direction, notably K-Mart and Walmart, they need to do more to make sure their standards are being upheld by store employees. 

It's not enough to have a register prompt telling employees to check IDs, stores need to implement policies to punish employees who violate the company's guidelines.

Any parent with young children should be alarmed at the idea that children have easy access to this kind of material.  Although the video games are rated, there is no existing enforcement mechanism to ensure that young children can't buy the games. 

Finally, and most importantly, parents play a crucial role in filtering the messages and images their children are exposed to, but too often, they aren't doing their job. In fact, according to a recent study by Dr. David Walsh published in Pediatrics, 90% of teenagers say that their parents never check the video game ratings before allowing them to rent or buy computer or video games. Recently, the GKC Theater chain in Peoria, IL announced their plans to get around restrictions on admitting minors to R-rated movies without an adult by selling R-cards.  The R-card would allow parents to grant permission for their kids to see R-rated movies without actually having to purchase the ticket for them or sit through the movie themselves. By removing themselves from the screening process, parents who purchase the R-card are abdicating responsibility for their children and are, in effect, telling the world they don't care what their child sees or how it may affect them in the long run. 

Parents need to do their job to ensure that their children don't have access to adult-rated entertainment, but fair is fair.  The entertainment industry doesn't need to make the parents' job any harder by marketing their adult-rated products directly to children.  And broadcasters, who screen each and every TV commercial in advance of airing them, must take a more active role in how their advertising inventory is used. Isn't it time for the entertainment industry to take responsibility for the content of the movies and video games they produce and market to children?

Statistical Appendix:

Movie Ads

Video Game Ads