New York, NY-July 29, 2003 - The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB) is pleased to announce that Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. (Dr. Pepper), working with CARU, has discontinued a television commercial for its "X2 Instant Win Sweepstakes that aired at 5:30 p.m. on The Cartoon Network's "Toonami" show.

The voiceover of the commercial stated, in part,

"Look under the cap of specially marked packages for your chance to win one of ten $100,000 grand prizes or thousands of other prizes."

CARU, which monitors Websites for compliance with CARU's Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising (the Guidelines) had found that the commercial for this sweepstakes, which aired during traditional children's viewing time, failed to clearly and prominently inform children that they need not purchase bottles of Dr. Pepper in order to win, in violation of the Guidelines. CARU requires that an advertiser provide a clear audio disclosure of the existence of a free alternate means of entry. Further, the advertiser, having touted the existence of "thousands of other prizes," did not clearly and prominently disclose what the other prizes were or one's likelihood of winning them, in violation of the Guidelines.

Although the company disagreed with CARU's conclusions, it stated that, "because we appreciate the work and objectives of CARU, we will no longer air such commercial."

CARU's inquiry was conducted under NAD/NARB/CARU Procedures for Voluntary Self-Regulation of National Advertising. Details of the inquiry, CARU's decision and the advertiser's response will be included in the next NAD/CARU Case Report.

Members of the press who wish to see a copy of the decision now should email CARU.

######

The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. (AAAA), the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB). Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation. NARC is the body that establishes the policies and procedures for the CBBB's National Advertising Division (NAD), the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), and the National Advertising Review Board (NARB).

NAD and CARU are the investigative arms of the advertising industry's voluntary self-regulation program. Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media, including the Internet. The National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate those cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level. This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community; CARU is financed by the children's advertising industry, while NAD/NARB's sole source of funding is derived from membership fees paid to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.