Dear Friends,

Has the entertainment industry learned any lessons from the Joe Camel scandal of the tobacco industry? Will they cease marketing adult movies and games to children? If you’ve read the latest apologies from movie and gaming executives, you may be convinced that they are going to change their ways.

But is there any substance to their pledge? Or, are they simply offering lip service to stave off the threat of government legislation, or multi-billion dollar law suits like those recently assessed against cigarette manufacturers?

As a result of a penetrating investigation conducted by the Federal Trade Commission into unethical marketing of R-rated movies and M-rated (mature) video games to children as young as age nine, movie studio chiefs reluctantly admitted last week that they have in fact been targeting adult movie ads at adolescents and young teens. Film makers and video game manufacturers

have identified a huge audience for violent and sexy entertainment among impressionable youngsters from ages 9-17. Several marketing execs confessed to setting up focus groups of minor-aged teens to evaluate violent and raunchy movies and games that should have been restricted to audiences over age 17.

In case you think these marketing infractions are few and far between, here are some revealing facts included in the FTC report issued last month.

[Download the FTC report’s Executive Summary.]

1. 35 out of 44 randomly selected movies rated R for violence were marketed directly at children under age 17.

2. Ads for 83 out of 118 video games rated M for violence were targeted at the same age group.

3. 54% of 395 movie theaters selected by the FTC permitted minors unaccompanied by an adult to purchase tickets to R-rated movies.

4. A check of retail stores that sell video games revealed that 85%sold M (Mature) games to minors.

5. The video rental industry faired well in the FTC report since invoking a voluntary "Pledge to Parents" about one year ago. Under the pledge, video store owners promise not to sell or rent R-rated videos or M-rated games to minors without parental consent.

The studios’ marketing practices weren’t the only issues under scrutiny during recent Senate hearings. Hollywood’s holy grail, the Movie Ratings System itself, also came under severe criticism, and not just from the politicians. Poor Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America must feel like the meat in an angry sandwich. On one hand, Senator John McCain called the MPAA rating system "nothing but a smoke screen to provide cover for immoral and unconscionable business practices." Even the Directors Guild called for a complete revision of the MPAA ratings, arguing that the system is too restrictive. They are also lobbying for a system that would apply not just to films, but to all media.

Tinsel town seems under attack. These creators of fiction and fantasy have in the past demonstrated a tendency to sing and dance their way around the real issues and escape under the valiant banner of the First Amendment, aptly mixed with an impassioned plea for "creative integrity".

Let’s hope these voluntary stipulations are more than superficial capitulations to satisfy political saber rattling during an election year. The pledge is a step in the right direction, but according to several observers including yours truly, it is full of evasive language and loopholes.

All this brouhaha has produced fascinating news stories for media and has even provided parents with something resembling hope – hope that the entertainment landscape may improve. The real test will in how things look this time next year. The Dove Foundation will report periodically on the performance of the major studios to meet this new industry pledge to clean up their act. Stay tuned.

Copyright © 2000, The Dove Foundation. All rights reserved.