Violence, Marketing and

To What Extent do Entertainment Industries Target Young People?

The issue of media violence and its effect on children has been a recurring concern to policymakers for the past several decades. However, in recent years, parents, researchers, politicians, and health professionals collectively have voiced their concern over the marketing of violent media products to young audiences. In the wake of a wave of shootings in schools, particularly the violence at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, President Bill Clinton requested in 1999 that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) conduct a study of the marketing of violent entertainment products to youths. In response to Clinton's request, the FTC prepared a report on the marketing of violent entertainment to children, which the commission presented to Congress in September 2000. This report found that the marketing plans for movies, music, and video games expressly targeted children and that media plans for these products called for advertising them in media most likely to reach children and adolescents. For instance, of the 44 R-rated movies selected for the FTC study, 80% of the marketing plans targeted children under 17. Likewise, of the 55 music recordings with explicit content, 27% of the marketing plans behind these music products explicitly identified teenagers as part of their target audience. Furthermore, of the 118 M-rated violent video games sampled in this study, 70% targeted children under 17, with 60% of the marketing plans specifically aiming to target youth under 17. In light of these findings, the FTC stated that the practice of [Page 861]marketing violent movies, music, and electronic games to children undermined the integrity of the industries' ratings and frustrated parents' attempts to make informed decisions about their children's exposure to media violence.

Since the release of the initial report in 2000, the FTC has conducted four follow-up reports issued in April 2001, December 2001, June 2002, and July 2004. The reports issued in 2001 and 2002 found that the entertainment industry had made some progress in providing rating information in advertising and in limiting advertising for violent media products in media popular with minors. For instance, the reports indicated some progress by the film and video game industries in terms of limiting advertising in popular teen-targeted media; however, the reports also noted little to no progress in the advertising practices of the music industry.

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