Self-Regulation in Action: Improving Food & Beverage Advertising to Kids

Conversations about improving children's health are everywhere right now - from Congress to school cafeterias to headlines in the news. These conversations often focus not just on what children eat, but the advertising of foods and beverages to them. What many don't know is that companies, through their own self-regulatory efforts, have already taken voluntary action to improve food advertising to children.

To explore this successful example of ISR, Howard Smith, Executive Director, Center for Industry Self-Regulation is joined by Dan Range, Vice President, Children's Food and Beverage Advertising initiative (CFBAI), a voluntary advertising self-regulatory program that sets standards for food advertising to children for some of the largest companies in the food and beverage industry.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
00:20 – Who is Dan Range?
Overview of his role leading CFBAI and his background in advertising law.
01:24 – What is CFBAI and Why Was It Created?
Dan explains the purpose of the initiative and its core commitment structure.
02:00 – The Nutrition Criteria
Strict limits on sugar, calories, sodium, and the required positive nutrients. Foods like candy and soda cannot be advertised to kids.
03:20 – Who Participates?
21 major advertisers, representing most food and beverage advertising in the U.S.
05:00 – Self-Regulation vs. Government Regulation
Why industry standards can evolve faster and adapt to technology.
08:20 – How CFBAI Adapts Quickly
Examples of updating nutrition criteria and covering new forms of advertising.
09:30 – Transparency & Accountability
Public pledges, published product lists, and independent monitoring.
12:00 – Why CFBAI Exists
Origins rooted in early 2000s public health concerns.
13:20 – Measuring Success
Eighty percent of participants now do no advertising to kids under 13.
16:25 – Digital Media, Social Platforms & AI
How CFBAI responds to new advertising venues and technologies.
19:05 – Responding to Critics
Discussion of trust, oversight, and where self-regulation fills policy gaps.
21:57 – What’s Coming in the Next Five Years?
AI, digital monitoring challenges, expanding membership, and more policy attention.
24:09 – Downstream Impacts Beyond CFBAI
How publishers and digital platforms use CFBAI standards to guide their own policies.