Just Play makes Daisy the Yoga Goat, a toy for kids. The company advertises that Daisy has “super-soft plush gray fur…and lots of personality” and a recent TV commercial shows Daisy as she independently “moves her head, swishes her tail, drinks from her play water bottle, and does downward dog and bird yoga poses.” Change a couple of words and that basically describes my dogs.
Although the TV commercial shows Daisy moving independently and performing those actions without kids touching her, that’s not really how Daisy works. Instead, instructions on the company’s website clarify that “to begin play,” kids must “flip the switch on her belly and pet Daisy’s back.” My dogs operate in much the same way (though they also came with autonomous features included).
The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (or “CARU”) investigated the commercial as part of its routine monitoring program and determined that the commercial violated its Guidelines by showing the product perform in a manner that can’t be duplicated by a child. CARU also worried that because the commercial showed Daisy with a yoga mat, kids might think that the yoga mat was included, when it wasn’t.
When advertising to children, it’s important to keep the CARU Guidelines in mind. They start with the premise that because children lack the same abilities that most adults (though perhaps not this one) have to evaluate ads, advertisers have special responsibilities to ensure that children aren’t misled. Among other things, that requires being clear about how products work and what’s included.
Stay tuned for more advertising law updates – and, if you’re lucky, pet pictures – in the new year. In the meantime, we hope that you and your families enjoy the rest of the holiday.
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