Adherence of Prime-Time Television Advertising Disclosures to the “Clear and Conspicuous Standard: 1990 vs. 2002

In 1990, one-fourth of all national television commercials contained disclosures, yet none of the disclosures adhered to all of the Federal Trade Commission\u27s clear and conspicuous standard (CCS). As a result of marketplace changes and a 2001 Federal Trade Commission and National Advertising Division joint workshop, the authors anticipate an increase in the number of disclosures and greater adherence to the CCS. The authors find a significant increase in disclosure incidence; however, adherence declines or remains unchanged for most individual guidelines. Finally, the authors provide public policy implications and offer suggestions to increase adherence to the CCS

Entertainment Industry Ratings Disclosures and the Clear and Conspicuous Standard

This study examined entertainment ratings disclosures against the Federal Trade Commission\u27s (FTC’s) Clear and Conspicuous Standard (CCS). In their investigation of marketing of violent entertainment to youth, the FTC advocated that the motion picture, music recording, and electronic games industries focus on “ensuring that the rating … and the reasons for the rating … are effectively and clearly communicated to parents” (p. 31). An investigation of a week of prime-time television commercials across six networks revealed that with the exception of dual modality presentation of the letter rating, ratings disclosure information is often incomplete and falls far short of meeting the FTC\u27s CCS. We offer recommendations to the entertainment industry to address these shortcomings

Consumer Miscomprehension: An Experimental Study of Age Group Differences

Business Administration, Marketin

Sharenting in an Evolving Digital World: Increasing Online Connection and Consumer Vulnerability

Sharenting (using social media to share content about one’s child) is a progressively common phenomenon enabled by society’s increased connection to digital technology. Although it can facilitate positive connections among internet users, it also leads to concerns related to children’s online privacy and well-being. This paper establishes boundaries and terminology related to sharenting in an evolving digital world. First, while much of the prior sharenting research focuses on the parent-child dyad, we apply consumer vulnerability theory to conceptualize a modern sharenting ecosystem involving key stakeholders (parents, children, community, commercial institutions, and policymakers). This expanded ecosystem extends the sharenting literature to better define the complex dynamism inherent in sharenting as part of our increasingly virtual society. Next, we expand the characterization of sharenting by introducing a spectrum of awareness that categorizes types of sharenting (active, passive, and invisible). These definitions help researchers explore how and why personally identifiable information (PII) may be (un)intentionally shared in different contexts. Finally, using the conceptual structures developed in this paper, we provide a research agenda for policymakers and consumer welfare researcher

A mixed-methods approach to assessing actual risk readership on branded drug websites

Despite FDA requirements that drug benefits and risks be presented in a ‘fair balance’ manner, little is known about the extent to which individuals actually seek and process risk information. Self-report measures of drug risk reading show mixed results. This exploratory study investigates this topic within the context of a branded prescription drug website for a fictional seasonal allergy drug. We use a mixed-methods approach involving eye-tracking, survey and qualitative data. While approximately 80% of participants (N = 29) claimed to have read half or more of the risk information, eye-tracking measures revealed limited to no risk reading when given the opportunity to freely view the site without explicit directions to read risk information. Survey results showed minimal unaided recall and modest aided recall of risks. To gain insight into why participants failed to seek drug risk information, we analyzed retro-active think aloud post-task interviews for potential explanations and looked for expressions of social desirability, information avoidance, optimism bias and familiarity. Perceived familiarity with the health condition, its risks and companion drug options surfaced as the primary explanation for failure to seek, and subsequently process, the risk information. This perceived familiarity prompted participants to ignore the risk information and discount the commercial information source. We offer practical recommendations to encourage risk reading in light of our findings

EXPLORING PARENTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF DARK DESIGN AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILDREN’S DIGITAL WELL-BEING

Dark design (also known as deceptive design; Colin et al., 2018 and dark patterns; Mathur et al., 2019) is evidenced by “a user interface carefully crafted to trick users into doing things they might not otherwise do” (Brignull, 2022; page 1). Much dark design is constructed with monetization as the primary goal- even in spaces without ecommerce design (e.g., free-to-play apps representing >95% of all mobile apps; Fitton et al. 2021). Many recent dark design strategies are also oriented towards collecting user information. Concerns about children’s vulnerability to inappropriate online marketing and economic fraud, and the impact of organisational data collection upon children’s privacy are increasing (European Commission, 2022; OECD, 2011; OFCOM, 2022). Regulators have begun to recognize, challenge, and fine deceptive design practices aimed at children (e.g., $245 million Epic Games settlement; FTC 2022), however, the scope and extent of dark design practices is such that regulators alone cannot safeguard children from such practices. Parents, who are widely understood to be primarily responsible for children’s online experiences, and children themselves, need to be mindful of and resistant to dark design practices in online spaces. With this in mind, this paper explores the following questions: (a) What is the influence of dark design (1) across mediums (e.g., apps, video games, social media platforms, websites) and (2) across differently-aged children? (b) To what extent are parents aware of their children’s exposure to dark design and the risks such exposure poses? (c) How effective are marketplace and regulatory controls

Sharenting in an evolving digital world: Increasing online connection and consumer vulnerability

Sharenting (using social media to share content about one's child) is a progressively common phenomenon enabled by society's increased connection to digital technology. Although it can encourage positive connections to others, it also creates concerns related to children's privacy and well-being. In this paper, we establish boundaries and terminology related to sharenting in an evolving digital world. We conceptualize a modern sharenting ecosystem involving key stakeholders (parents, children, community, commercial institutions, and policymakers), by applying consumer vulnerability theory to explore the increased online connection that occurs as work, school, and socialization become increasingly more virtual. Next, we expand the characterization of sharenting by introducing a spectrum of sharenting awareness that categorizes three types of sharenting (active, passive, and invisible). Finally, we provide a research agenda for policymakers and consumer welfare researchers.</p