As a brother, sister, aunt or uncle you know that a considerable amount of food advertising is directed at children from the ages of 6 to 11. A recent Kaiser Foundation report reviewed the findings of 40 studies on the role of the media in fuelling the rapid growth of childhood obesity in the United States. The report concluded that the majority of research finds a direct link between the amount of time children spend interacting with the media and their body weight. "The report cites studies showing that the typical American child sees about 40,000 ads a year on TV, and that the majority of ads aimed at children are for sweets, cereal, soda and fast food."

Place yourself in the role of a brand manager of a food product (sweet snack) with a primary target market of children aged 6 to 11. In a telephone interview, you are asked the following questions by a reporter from the Wall Street Journal in response to the Kaiser Foundation report. How would you respond?

1.Do food ads children are exposed to on TV influence them to make unhealthy food choices?

2.Do cross promotions between your product and popular TV and movie characters encourage children to buy and eat high-calorie foods?

3.Would you support government regulation directed at regulating food ads for children aged 6 to 11?