New York, NY - December 23, 2003 - The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) announced today that two commercials airing during children's programming by Supportkids Inc., a child support collection service, were found to be in violation of CARU's Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising (Guidelines).

The section of the Guidelines entitled "Principles" states, in part: "3. Products and content which are inappropriate for children should not be advertised or promoted directly to children."

The section of the Guidelines entitled "Product Presentations and Claims" states, in part: "10. …presentations that could…provoke anxiety in children should be avoided."

Both commercials featured mothers talking about their past financial problems -"I was broke" or "I didn't have lunch money for the kids." Both spots also included visuals of children. Finally, both also prominently asked the following question: "Are you owed more than $5,000 in child support?"

Looking at the totality of the commercials, CARU found that these spots-which aired during kids' programming such as Rocket Power--would attract the attention of and strike a raw nerve in many members of the child audience. Relying on research into kids' fears and concerns, including one study of schoolchildren ages 7-12 which found that money was one of the three areas they worried most intensely about, CARU concluded that the commercials' descriptions of the grim reality of the mothers' past financial struggles have the capacity to feed into or exacerbate the concerns of many children who live in single-parent homes. Thus, CARU took the position that these spots should not air during children's programming.

Supportkids stated that it disagreed with CARU's concerns about the subject advertising and that it has been providing services to custodial parents for 12 years. It also stated that it receives hundreds of calls every week from parents and that it has never received a complaint about its commercials. Supportkids asserted that the spots contain no violence, no strident pitchman, no harsh language or images, and no raised voices. Finally, it contended that the commercials were designed simply to explain how Supportkids had assisted real families.

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.

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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.