CARU Recommends CEC Modify Advertising for Chuck E. Cheese Sweepstakes

New York, NY – July 30, 2014 – The Children’s Advertising Review Unit has recommended that that CEC modify sweepstakes advertising for “Chuck E. Cheese’s Rip It, Sip It, Win It Sweepstakes,” which appeared during children’s programming.

CARU is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

CARU monitors advertising to children in all media. CARU also examines websites and apps for compliance with CARU’s Self-Regulatory Program for Children’s Advertising – which includes guidelines on online privacy protection – as well as with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

This 15-second commercial opened with an animated version of the Chuck E. Cheese mascot ripping a label off of a soft-drink cup as he says, “It’s time to Rip it, Sip it, Win it … Every cup wins a new awesome prize.”

The voiceover stated that “Every cup wins a super awesome prize. You can win tickets, and a few super lucky kids can even win a Disney Cruise Line vacation.” During this voiceover, children were shown with many tickets in hand, followed by a shot of a large cruise ship and a family together on the beach.

At the end of the commercial the voiceover says, “No purchase necessary, details at chuckecheese.com.”

CARU was concerned that the likelihood of winning the “awesome and super awesome” prizes was not clearly disclosed and recommended CEC modify the advertising at issue.

CEC, in its advertiser’s statement, said it “understands but respectfully disagrees with CARU’s conclusion concerning the Advertisement. CARU’s recommendation to remove the characterizing language is now moot as the Game has since expired … and CEC is no longer airing the Advertisement. However, CEC agrees to take CARU’s recommendations into consideration in future advertising.”