Center on Media and Child Health

New Study: Alcohol Advertising on Public Transportation

Since we're located in Boston, we were thrilled to see a study in this month's American Journal of Public Health about alcohol advertising on Boston's public transportation system, the MBTA.  CMCH asked author Michael Siegel, MD MPH to be a guest blogger and tell us more about what he found.  Dr. Siegel is a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health and the author of Marketing Public Health: Strategies to Promote Social Change.

Every day, approximately 9,600 Boston schoolchildren take the T (short for the MBTA - Boston’s public transit system) to and from school. What their parents may not realize is that while en route, these kids are bombarded with alcohol advertising, thanks to the state of Massachusetts’ willingness to allow its property to be used for the marketing of alcohol to youths. Our study, which I co-authored with three students at the Boston University School of Public Health, revealed that through the MBTA subway trains, alcohol companies are able to achieve, in a single day, the same amount of advertising exposure among Boston youths as if they took out 5.5 Super Bowl commercials.

We studied the extent of alcohol advertising on the T by surveying four consecutive trains on each of the four subway lines on two separate occasions, one month apart. We found that on average:

• each subway car contains two advertisements
• these ads result in 18,000 alcohol ad exposures among Boston schoolchildren ages 11-18 each day
• on a typical day, alcohol companies are able to achieve the equivalent of exposing 54% of Boston youths to alcohol advertising, all thanks to the state’s willingness to allow its property to be used for alcohol marketing purposes.

These ads are clearly designed to appeal to youths and to entice them to use alcohol before they reach the legal age of alcohol purchase, which is 21. For example, one advertisement we found on the T showed a college student arriving to move in to his dorm. The two essential items depicted for move-in day were his furniture and a larger-than-life bottle of Absolut vodka.

A large body of evidence demonstrates that these alcohol ads not only appeal to kids, but they also influence adolescents’ decisions to start drinking. In other words, by allowing alcohol ads on the MBTA, the state is allowing its property to be used for the recruitment of new youth drinkers.

Massachusetts state representative Martin Walsh has introduced legislation that would eliminate alcohol advertising on state property. The bill (H-1113) is currently being considered by the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.

In the mean time, the state continues to allow the promotion of underage drinking on state property through the daily bombardment of youths by alcohol advertisements on the MBTA subway system.

 

Behind the Scenes of Children’s TV

The following was written by guest blogger Carolyn Lertzman, a former CMCH intern who went on to work behind the scenes of children's television.  Here, she gives us an inside look at her fascinating job.  

When your kids watch their favorite TV shows, have you ever wondered how these programs make it on the air?  Sure, there are writers, producers, cast and crew that create what you see on the screen, but did you know there is also a group of professionals tracking the shows you and your family love as they develop?  These professionals are otherwise known as the folks in Standards and Practices—and, I am one such professional.  Our job is assuring that the content you watch on television and online upholds the standards of our network, appropriately reflects the brand associated with our network, and abides by related federal laws, while still being entertaining and educational.

In our department, colleagues are assigned to specific series or movies and are part of the many stages that happen to get a show aired: from the development of the premise to the working out of a storyboard to the writing of a script to the final product that runs on TV.  Depending on the target audience and the show itself, we provide notes that will help the show reflect the standards I mentioned before.  For example we comment on things such as whether the dialogue is appropriate for the audience, whether the wardrobe matches standards we’ve agreed to, and whether the actions of the characters are something kids might imitate and could possibly be hurt by doing.

One of the most interesting types of guidelines we have to accommodate are those from the Federal Communications Commission.  The FCC notes that children have difficulty determining when a television show ends and a commercial begins.  Therefore guidelines require that we use “bumpers” to assist the child in making the visual transition between the show and the commercials, so that we do not falsely persuade them to purchase items they may believe are a continuation of the show.

For me, one of the most exciting aspects of this profession is that as new trends emerge in popular culture and world affairs—including new media platforms and developments in public health -- the standards by which we review a program also evolve.  I really enjoy being able to say that my job is to review content to make sure it is safe and healthy for our audiences to watch.

New Legislation Regulates Tobacco Marketing

This morning, President Obama signed legislation that gives the FDA the ability to regulate tobacco marketing.  They are expected to take a number of measures to reduce tobacco advertising to youth:

• Most cigarette ads will be limited to black-and-white text only (which may face free-speech challenges)
• Outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds is banned (though research shows that there is still a lot of advertising in neighborhoods near these schools)
• Tobacco-brand sponsorships of sports and entertainment events will be stopped (research shows that teens who watched a tobacco-sponsored sports event were more likely to experiment with tobacco)

Q: What do you get when you cross a Hollywood filmmaker with a pediatrician?

A: The Mediatrician^SM

Q:  How do I deal with inappropriate commercials during sports TV?

Q:  My 2 year old was scared by a movie, what do I do?

Q:  How much TV is too much TV?

From cyberbullying and violent video games to social networking and sexting, parents are overwhelmed by the new media environment and how it affects their children. To help parents navigate this new and changing landscape, CMCH is excited to announce the launch of Ask the Mediatrician ^SM.

Pediatrician, former Hollywood producer, parent, and CMCH founder Dr. Michael Rich
turns research-based recommendations into action steps parents can take in order to make media a positive and healthful encounter for their families.   

Also, check out our new and improved homepage!

Using Media to Show Instead of Tell

Last week, we blogged about an op-ed on photo retouching and body image by filmmaker Jesse Epstein.  Here, Jesse joins us as a guest blogger to expand upon the educational efforts she is working on. 

I spent my formative childhood years in Mozambique Africa, where full bodies and “child bearing hips” were celebrated. When I returned to the US as a pre-teen I was confused to find my friends obsessed with their weight, counting calories, and saying that they “hated their thighs”. I admired their magazine collages of models with flat bellies and joined my peers in the fight to stay slim. But this post isn’t just about my personal story, it’s about a public health issue.

People living in media-saturated cultures are exposed to hundreds of idealized images per day through advertising and magazines; almost all of which have been altered to perfection.  According to a magazine photo re-toucher I interviewed,

“Every picture has been worked on some twenty to thirty rounds, going back between the re-touchers and the agencies and the clients – they have been perfected to death. Just look at the magazines, and all that is there to alter your mind, alter your perception of what physical beauty is, and what the means of obtaining it are.” 

When even the models and actors themselves don’t “measure up” to their own perfected images, it is crucial for people to understand how images are constructed, and what massages they are sending. Providing the tools to examine these media messages, through Media Literacy, is pivotal at this point in time.

Many problems and poor choices, especially among teens and pre-teens, can be traced to poor self-esteem and the inability to reach an unrealizable ideal. These may include the decision to smoke, participate in unsafe sex and early sexual initiation, academic failure, and other very risky, often life-threatening, behaviors.

I strive, through the power of film, to tell stories than can show rather than tell. While mass media is often pegged as a culprit of social ills, it can also play a key role in education toward behavioral change.  So, I’m currently creating a series of films on media and physical perfection to be used as powerful public health tools –- to start often-difficult discussions, raise consciousness, and ultimately empower youth to make healthy choices.  I hope they are used by as many educators as possible.

34x25x36 - A documentary about mannequins and perfection.

Wet Dreams and False Images - Interviews with photo re-touchers expose how much alteration goes on before an ad is released.

The Guarantee - A dancer's story about his prominent nose and the effect it has on his career.

More information about Jesse's work:

>> Jesse's website

>> New Day Films

 

 

Achieving Perfect Beauty with an Airbrush

Filmmaker Jesse Epstein recently published a video Op-Ed on the New York Times website.  This behind-the-scenes talk with real photo retouchers explores how pervasive this practice is within the beauty industry, and how it affects people's perceptions of their own beauty. 

In the video she mentions a 2007 study which found that just 3 minutes of looking at fashion magazines reduced college women's self-esteem.

So how can we protect the self-esteem of the young people we know?  By teaching them how photos are altered, they can begin to see how many media images are not representations of reality.  See our previous post on other examples of photo retouching and share them with a young person you know. 

Hint: Seeing videos like these, that look "behind-the-scenes", make young people feel empowered; now they know what's really going on and they won't be fooled again...

To Regulate or to Self-Police?

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission published a new report on food marketing to children and adolescents. According to the FTC website, "the report calls for all food companies 'to adopt and adhere to meaningful, nutrition-based standards for marketing their products to children under 12.' "

Meanwhile, the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a coalition of 14 major food companies, published a report in which they promised either to stop advertising to children or to promote only "better-for-you products" to children. Today's New York Times chronicles the tension over whether to increase government regulation of such advertising or to allow the food industry to regulate itself.

The reports were released amidst growing concerns over the increase in childhood overweight and the research that points toward food marketing as a potential factor.

New Guidelines to Reduce Soft Drink Marketing to Children

On Tuesday, the International Council of Beverages Associations, the worldwide trade association representing the non-alcoholic beverage industry, adopted new guidelines on marketing to children.

Beverage companies can voluntarily agree to the guidelines, which eliminate advertising to audiences that are primarily composed of children under 12. The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo both pledged to meet the new guidelines by the end of 2008. Disney adopted similar standards in 2006.

McDonald's: They're Lovin It

Robinson, Borzekowski, Matheson, and Kraemer performed a study to see whether children's tastes were influenced by heavily marketed brands.  Over 60 preschool children tasted 5 pairs of identical food items.  In each pair, one item was packaged with the McDonald's logo, and one item was in unbranded packaging.  The children were asked whether the foods tasted the same or if one tasted better. 

The results of the study showed that overall, "children preferred the tastes of foods and drinks if they thought they were from McDonald’s."  Analysis of the results showed that children who  had TV sets in their houses and children who ate McDonald's food more often were more likely to say the McDonald's food tasted better than it's identical counterpart. 

The authors conclude that a food's branding influences young children's ideas of taste and that perhaps this idea could be used to encourage children eat more nutritious food.   

You Can't Skip *These* Ads

You thought you were saved from marketing schemes because you skip commercials with TiVo, hop from one radio station to another, or opt for books instead?  Think again. When technological change allows users to avoid one kind of ad, marketers change the shape of advertising so you can no longer avoid it.  Here are some examples:

• Radio:  Since the introduction of satellite radio, consumers have many more choices of stations to listen to, meaning that when a song ends and advertising begins, they just flip channels.  In order to prevent people from changing stations, advertisers invented the "adlet" -- a 5 second commercial that runs between songs.
• Television:  With the advent of TiVo and other DVR services, consumers are likely to fast-forward through TV ads.  Advertisers have tried a number of ways to make sure that consumers see their products such as inserting very short ads right before the show, staging ads that look like the show itself, creating very long ads that look like regular commercials when viewed in fast-forward, and embedding coupons in commercials so that user rewinds to catch the promotion.
• Books:  Advertisers have even slipped ads into books. Last year, Cathy’s Book came complete with product placement from Proctor & Gamble. The authors assert that the manuscript was written before the deal was struck, but some groups fear that it is just another ploy to get teens to buy CoverGirl and Tampax products.

It seems that the more consumers try to avoid commercials, the more creative the advertising industry gets!