• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, February 7, 2007

One of the biggest global advertisers, Masterfoods, has decided to end marketing of its core products, including Mars and Snickers bars, to children under 12 by the end of the year. The new policy appears to be a first for a food marketer, and comes as the industry grapples with societal issues around childhood obesity, nutrition and the industry's desire to remain free of government regulation.

Marlene Machut, director of health and nutrition communications at Masterfoods, said yesterday the news was prematurely announced in the U.K., where the company had communicated its intentions to the European Commission's director-general for health and consumer protection. It was subsequently reported by London's Financial Times. In the U.K., TV watchdog Ofcom proposes to ban "junk food" ads during TV shows aimed at children under 16.

In 2006, U.S. sales of Mars chocolate bars totaled $178,821--up nearly 62% from the year before, according to Information Resources, Inc.-- while sales of Snickers were down 1.8%, to $249 million. (Mars bars are more prevalent in the U.K. and Canada.)The figures do not include convenience store sales.*

Machut said that while the change would impact magazine and TV advertising in the U.S., "it represents less than 5% of our ad buy." She said the company had already raised the cut-off age to which it markets its candy products, from 6 to 9, in early 2006.

The move "is part of our overall effort, in the interests of health and wellness, to give our customers a choice, and part of our desire for self-regulation," she said. Linda Bean, director of communications for the National Advertising Review Council, said Masterfoods plans to join the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.

Dan Jaffe, executive vice president for government relations at the Association for National Advertisers, called the move one of the "different ways companies in different ways are stepping up to the plate to deal with food advertising and its impact on youngsters."

But he said it was just one part of a "massive effort" being made in a marketplace that remains free of government regulation. "It sends a positive message, but the totality of what is being done is greater than any one thing," said Jaffe. "The important thing is that choice remains in the marketplace."

The new policy is part of a larger effort being undertaken by Mars, said Machut, including product reformulation that will reflect the consumer environment and issues related to health. The company reviews its policies at least once a year, she said, in order to keep up to date with new technologies in advertising.

Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said she was cautiously optimistic about Masterfoods' new policy but that many questions remain such as, "What do they mean by ads? What do they mean by kids under 12? Do they mean TV, do they mean all marketing or cartoon characters on packaging or in ads or online?"

Masterfoods did not respond to questions asking for specific examples of which TV shows and magazines would no longer carry advertising for children under 12, leaving observers like Wootan wondering, "How meaningful is it?"

* This paragraph was modified after publication.