• by Wayne Friedman , September 19, 2005

The National Advertising Review Council, which is part of the Better Business Bureau, told the Federal Trade Commission that it will expand some of its self-regulating duties in reference to children's advertising, adding product placement and online advertising to its purview.

Advertisers have been responding to recent criticism that specific advertising has led to children's obesity. One recent comment on obesity by the Grocery Manufacturers Association was a key factor in the NARC's decision to make this move.

The GMA wanted the NARC to include an overview of product placements in children's shows and limits on the interactive games, which seem more like advertising than entertainment.

The NARC's President James R. Guthrie, in a letter to the FTC and GMA, pledged to expand its role in overseeing kids' advertising--although he didn't set actual guidelines or prohibitions.

Now, through the Better Business Bureau site, www.bbb.org, consumers can more easily complain about children's advertising. The NARC will have more advisors to review ads and more pre-screening of ads. That means more opinions made available to advertisers.

The NARC will expand advertising guidelines to also cover computer games, and video games. In addition, the NARC, upon GMA's suggestion, is looking to evaluate a plan to ban product placement for kids' programming.