Food Companies Curb TV Spending to Kids Amid Obesity Crisis
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Food companies cut spending on television ads that market less-healthy food in the U.S. to children and increased marketing on the Internet and through mobile devices, according to a Federal Trade Commission report.
The companies designated $1.79 billion for marketing to people ages 2 to 17 in 2009, compared with $2.1 billion in 2006, according to the report released today. Adjusted for inflation, the drop was almost 20 percent, the agency said. At the same time, online and mobile marketing rose by 51 percent to $122.5 million, according to the report.