US: Federal Trade Commission to launch education programme on advertising literacy

On 12 March, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold an event entitled ‘Ad it up! Kids in a commercial world’, which will explore the ways children interact with the commercial world.

The results of three panel discussions on children’s understanding of the commercial world will inform the FTC’s “upcoming education programme on advertising literacy for “tweens,” or kids who are 8 to 12 years old.”

The event will consist of three panel discussions on the following topics:

- What do kids experience in the commercial world?
- What do kids understand about their experience in the commercial world?
- What do kids need to know to navigate in this world?

Invited speakers to the event include:

Sheila Millar, Partner, Keller and Heckman LLP
Janet Oak, Managing Director, Just Kid, Inc.
Kelly Peña, Vice President, Disney Channel Worldwide Brand Research
Jerome Williams, F.J. Heyne Centennial Professor in Communication, Department of Advertising, University of Texas at Austin
Sandra Calvert, Chair and Professor, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University
Mary McIlrath, Vice President of Qualitative Research, C&R Research
Kathryn Montgomery, Professor, Public Communication Division, School of Communication, American University
Tessa Jolls, President and CEO, Center for Media Literacy
Wayne Keeley, Director, Children’s Advertising Review Unit, Council of Better Business Bureaus
David Kleeman, President, American Center for Children and Media
Debbie Solomon, Managing Director, Business Planning, Mindshare
Jane Tallim, Executive Co-Director, Media Awareness Network

Source: Advertising Education Forum

The Responsible Advertising and Children Programme is addressing the public and political debate around how children interact with a commercial world and has been working closely with the UK Advertising Association in relation to the UK government consultation examining evidence on the impact of the commercial world on children’s wellbeing. RAC has produced executive briefings, industry positions and “additional considerations for marketers”, which identify potential threats and opportunities in relation to the debate on the “commercialization of childhood”. For more information, please contact Will Gilroy at w.gilroy@wfanet.org