Introducing CARU: Making Responsible Advertising Easy
CARU, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit, is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting responsible advertising to children. Established in 1974, CARU is the only self-regulatory forum in the United States devoted exclusively to protecting children from inappropriate or unfair advertising. CARU is committed to promoting responsible advertising to children and protecting the interests of children and parents. CARU reviews advertising and other marketing communications across all media, including TV, print, radio, audio, video, and digital, to ensure that they comply with the self-regulatory guidelines developed by CARU and the advertising industry. CARU also provides advertisers with guidance on developing creative and effective advertising that is appropriate for children. CARU’s guidelines are based on research and are designed to ensure that all advertising is appropriate for children.
What CARU Does
CARU’s mission is to ensure that advertising and marketing communications directed to children are truthful, age-appropriate, and non-deceptive. To do this, CARU:
- Reviews advertising and other marketing communications to ensure that they comply with the self-regulatory guidelines.
- Provides guidance to advertisers on developing creative and effective advertising that is appropriate for children.
- Monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of its self-regulatory program.
- Reports violations of the self-regulatory guidelines to the Federal Trade Commission.
CARU also provides resources and guidance to parents and educators on how they can help protect children from inappropriate or unfair advertising.
Examples of CARU’s Work
CARU has been actively involved in protecting children from inappropriate or unfair advertising for more than 40 years. Here are some examples of CARU’s work:
- In 2018, CARU recommended that an online advertising campaign by a toy company be modified so that it was more age-appropriate.
- In 2016, CARU recommended that an online game targeted at children be modified so that it was more age-appropriate.
- In 2015, CARU recommended that an online children’s magazine be modified to ensure that it was not misleading.
CARU has a long history of protecting children from inappropriate or unfair advertising, and it continues to work diligently to ensure that all advertising directed at children is truthful, age-appropriate, and non-deceptive.
Conclusion
CARU is committed to promoting responsible advertising to children and protecting the interests of children and parents. By reviewing advertising and other marketing communications and providing guidance to advertisers, CARU is helping to protect children from inappropriate or unfair advertising. For more information about CARU and its work, please visit its website. You can also read CARU’s Guidelines for Children’s Advertising and its Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Compliance Guide.