• Ad Age, Wednesday, November 15, 2006 11:30 AM

Clearasil is using teachers to distribute brochures and product samples to students, again raising the hot-button issue of marketing to children in schools. The Clearasil brochure bills the brand as "Clear. Smooth. Cool," and advises children to "Get the jump on pimples, acne and oil with Clearasil." It includes pictures and blurbs on five products.

"It's totally inappropriate to run a sampling or advertising program in school for an over-the-counter medication targeting impressionable children," says Gary Ruskin, director of the advocacy group Commercial Alert.

Reckitt Benckiser--which inherited the program when it acquired Clearasil as part of its buy of Boots Healthcare last year--defends it as an educational effort. A Reckitt spokesman says teachers nationwide get cards mailed to them promoting the program, and must return them before any materials are sent. Neither the teachers nor the schools receive compensation.

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