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Marketers Of Kids' Products Suffer Setback In Fight Against FCC Proposal

  • Ad Age, Friday, November 18, 2005 1:15 PM
A federal court case involving proposed restrictions on TV and Internet advertising of children's products is moving ahead despite efforts by marketers and a leading trade organization to have it delayed. The development is a setback for the marketers and the Association of National Advertisers in their efforts to halt the restrictions, which are part of a proposed Federal Communications Commission rule. A decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to shift the case to Cincinnati effectively means that opponents of the rule have little more than a month to fight it. "We are very concerned," said Dan Jaffe, ANA executive vice president. "With a limited amount of time, the problem becomes more intense, but there is still time for the court to act." The FCC rule requires TV and cable stations to count program promotion against advertising limits on shows aimed at those under 13, which effectively reduces available ad time. It also imposes a ban on the use of show characters to sell products on the Web, as long as the Web sites are mentioned in the show. Finally, it imposes new limits on mentioning Web sites for commercial products in programming and limits the ability of networks to pre-empt children's programming. Opponents say the rules are unconstitutional and that the Internet restrictions are outside the FCC's jurisdiction.

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