October 10, 2018

The Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI) participants again demonstrated excellent compliance with their commitments to not advertise to children under age 12 in 2017. The nine small-to-medium confection companies that participate in CCAI join the five larger confection companies in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) that do not advertise their foods or beverages to children. Both advertising self-regulation programs are administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB).

Assessment of the CCAI participants’ compliance was based on CFBAI’s independent monitoring of child-directed media including programming on the companies’ websites, child-directed TV networks and digital media, including popular third-party child-directed websites, apps and YouTube channels, as well as child-directed print  and radio.

“We are pleased but not surprised that the participants’ compliance remained outstanding,” said Maureen Enright, director of CCAI. “The CCAI participants have made a strong, voluntary commitment to responsible advertising and to improving the landscape of food advertising to children.”

The CCAI 2017 Annual Report found that all of the companies that participated in the program in 2017 were compliant with their commitments to not advertise to children under age 12 or in elementary schools. The report assesses the compliance of eight companies: Brown & Haley, Ferrara Candy Company; Ghirardelli Chocolate Company; Jelly Belly Candy Company; Just Born Quality Confections; The Promotion in Motion Companies, Inc.; R.M. Palmer Company and Wolfgang Candy Company. (Wolfgang Candy Co. ceased engaging in consumer-directed promotion and sales at the end of 2017 and is no longer a CCAI participant.) Goetze’s Candy Company and Impact Confections joined CCAI in December 2017 and their first-year compliance will be reported on in CCAI’s 2018 Annual Report. The CCAI participants join the five confectionery companies in CFBAI – American Licorice Company; Ferrero USA; The Hershey Company; Mars, Incorporated; and Mondelez International– that do not advertise directly to children. These candy companies make the majority of the candy sold in the U.S.

The Report can be viewed here.