Kellogg's, Hungry Jack's and Chupa Chups have had their digital advertising slammed by advocacy group, The Parents' Jury, with each taking out a title at the recent Fame and Shame Awards.
The Parents' Jury and Shame Awards aim to raise awareness of persuasive and misleading techniques employed by advertisers to promote unhealthy food and drinks to children.
Recognising the rise of digital marketing aimed at children and teenagers, The Parents' Jury named fast food chain Hungry Jack's 'Make it Better' and lollipop brand Chupa Chups' 'Lol-a-Coaster' apps as joint winners of of the Digital Ninja Award. This award draws attention to brands which use digital media in the most obvious way to target children and drive active participation in the brand – what the awards refer to as 'pester power'.
Other nominees in this category were Slurpee, Flavor Grab, Fanta Playzone and Yo Gorilla.
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Campaigns manager for The Parents' Jury, Corrina Langelaan, said "This year, we looked at the good, the bad and the apps. Many kids today are more tech-savvy than their parents, but they're no less vulnerable to sophisticated food marketing techniques.
"Children of all ages have access to multiple forms of social and digital media, making them an easy target for the marketers of unhealthy food. It’s a constant challenge, even for the most vigilant of parents, to oversee what their child is accessing online. Something that looks like a free and fun game like ‘LolaCoaster’ in fact contains what many parents will consider insidious forms of branding. Even the reviews describe it as an 'advertisement based game'."
In a first for the awards, a panel of judges, academics and advertisers worked together with Jury members to name the best and worst examples of food advertising aimed at children.
For the third year running, Kellogg's TV advertising was shamed for its 'pester power', this time in relation to its LCM bar.
Kathryn Taylor, member of The Parents' Jury and part of the judging panel, said feedback from concerned parents helped make it Kellogg's a clear winner of the Shame Award for Pester Power.
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"The kind of sneaky advertising shown as part of the LCM lunchbox advertisement makes me angry on behalf of so many parents. Not only does it appear as though having an LCM in your lunchbox makes kids more popular amongst their peers, the fact that this child appears to have one every school day suggests it is more than just an occasional treat," she said.
Other brands nominated in this category were Oreo cookies, Nutella, KFC, McDonald’s Staying Up Late, McDonald’s and Coca Cola glasses, Hungry Jack’s and Happy Feet, Cadbury Joyville and McDonald’s Happy Meal.
Brands were also recognised for their good work in digital advertising, with Aussie Bananas praised for its 'Nature's Energy Snack' campaign, taking out the Fame Award for Parents' Choice.
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Host of the awards, Cancer Council NSW, said the awards are necessary because they highlight the failure of industry self-regulation.
Clare Hughes, nutrition program manager at Cancer Council NSW said, "Cancer Council’s recent research showed that the food industry’s so-called responsible marketing initiatives have not been successful in reducing unhealthy food marketing to children. The fact that after eight years we still need to have these awards is just further evidence that food advertising is still creating pester power in Australian homes, and it’s little wonder given the lengths food marketers are now going in order to reach kids online."