Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU)

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CARU’s West Coast Conference 2013 is scheduled for April 10 at the Beverly Hills Hilton, and once again promises to be a not-to-be-missed event. Confirmed speakers include Mamie Kresses, Federal Trade Commission; Katie Ratte, The Walt Disney Company; Jeannette Neumann, Mattel; Cynthia Nishimoto, Bandai; Stevan Levy, Kabillion; and Ryan Shadrick Wilson, The Partnership for a Healthier America. CARU believes if there is one conference to attend this year, this is the one, particularly in view of the impending COPPA modifications. CARU will devote a panel to the COPPA changes and will have detailed, lively discussions about the impact to the industry at-large. Indeed, rather than just a panel discussion, CARU hopes it will be more of a training session to prepare advertisers and website operators for the changes. Additionally, panelists will examine domestic and global challenges to self-regulation in the areas of social media, mobile marketing, sweepstakes, and food and beverage advertising.
Continue Reading CARU’s 3rd Annual Children’s Advertising & Online Privacy Conference

After a swift left to the chin in early September from the Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair, Rep. Fred Upton, David Vladeck, the FTC Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, testified before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and the Subcommittee on Health, October 12, 2011, discussing the International Working…

From the proposed changes to COPPA to the latest developments in the area of self-regulation of food marketing to children, the CARU conference to be held Wednesday, October 5, 2011 in New York City will be one of the best places not only to learn the details but also to interact with leaders in the…

The role of self-regulation is partially educational. Wayne Keeley’s CARU has demonstrated once again why the self-regulatory body he heads up is relevant and focused on ensuring that the educational mission is not lost in the day-to-day cases they hear. CARU has produced a Public Service Campaign entitled “Do You Know Where Your Children Are…On…

Dear Friends and Supporters:

As most of you know, CARU is in the process of launching a PSA campaign on children’s safety on the Internet.  As Director of CARU and a parent of three young children, I ask that you please help us to get the word about this extremely important issue and our PSA…

No, school bus drivers were not playing Pink Floyd’s classic Another Brick in the Wall (We Don’t Need No Education) just in time for the first day of school. Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Report to Congress evaluating the commercial proposals for distributing radio and television programs aboard school buses. The FCC…

The CARU Annual Conference is scheduled for October 7, 2009 at New York City’s W New York Hotel; 541 Lexington Ave. Expert panelists will consider challenging issues presently facing the Children’s Advertising Industry, focusing on how the digital age has changed the way companies market their products to children. Panelists will examine and demonstrate the…

The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) determined recently that Skechers, the maker of Red Phrans-Phavorite Sneakers, and Marc Ecko Enterprises, which markets the product, should modify or discontinue advertising that suggests the shoes shine red when used. CARU picked up the ad during its monitoring practices, as it aired during after-school hours on Nickelodeon. Vanessa…

The self-regulatory group that monitors advertising aimed at children has issued new guidelines designed to ensure that advertisers do not mislead children into believing stationary toys can move on their own.

“Toys that do not move on their own, or cannot perform certain movements on their own, should not be portrayed in advertising in a…