Responsible marketing
Strong marketing guidelines ensure that we advertise and market responsibly.
Guidelines for responsibly advertising food to children
- No General Mills product may be advertised on any program targeted to preschool children.
- General Mills brands marketed to children under 12 years of age must meet General Mills’ Guidelines for Healthy Dietary Choices and the sugar guideline.
Guidelines for Healthy Dietary Choice Standard: A and B or A and C
| A&B |
or |
A&C |
A) Contains 175 calories or less per labeled serving. AND B) Meets the FDA definition of “healthy” per labeled serving, and has zero grams of labeled trans fat. |
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A) Contains 175 calories or less per labeled serving. AND C) Supplies per labeled serving at least one-half serving of a food group targeted for increased consumption (i.e., whole grain, fruit, vegetables, or fat-free or low-fat dairy) and has: - Less than or equal to 230 milligrams of sodium for cereal and snacks or less than or equal to 480 milligrams for side and main dishes.
- Less than or equal to 2 grams of saturated fat.
- Zero grams labeled trans fat.
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Sugar guideline
In addition to meeting the Guidelines for Healthy Dietary Choice Standard, only those products that have 12 grams or less of sugar per serving, other than sugar from fruit, vegetables and dairy, will be marketed to children under 12.
Child marketing limitations
Products not meeting these guidelines will not be marketed or advertised to children under 12. Specifically:
No advertising on programming targeted to children.
No promotion marketing targeted to children, including sweepstakes, contests, premiums, movie tie-ins, etc.
No marketing using Internet communications or activities targeted to children, including websites, blogs, games, etc.
No marketing via third-party licensed characters in advertising or on websites targeted to children.
Additional guidelines
General Mills does not allow product advertising or marketing to children in K-12 schools or school settings.
General Mills does not pay for or actively seek product placement into programs or media targeting children under 12.
Advertising on children’s programming must meet or exceed the guidelines of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Better Business Bureau.
Advertising on children’s programming must be prescreened with CARU staff for proper messaging and content.
Children in advertising must be depicted as active and energetic, engaging in physical activity in support of General Mills’ “Balance, Moderation, Exercise” message. Foods represented must reflect sensible portions and serving sizes – never depicting over-consumption.
General Mills websites targeted to children must include a 30-minute “activity break” that encourages children after 30 minutes to engage in another “more active” activity.
General Mills websites also must follow all relevant Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) guidelines regarding personally identifiable information and privacy.
General Mills will comply with the laws and regulations of each country in which it operates, and may adapt its guidelines to specific market requirements.
General Mills will not conduct any blogs, message boards, chat rooms or other similar online forums where the majority of the audience is children under the age of 13.
Any online ads will be clearly marked as advertising.
As a responsible marketer around the globe, General Mills will apply these guidelines where it markets products outside the United States. In doing so, the guidelines may be adjusted on a country-specific basis to:
Child Marketing Review Council
An internal Child Marketing Review Council considers and reviews all planned marketing to ensure compliance with the company’s child marketing guidelines. The Council activities include:
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Conducting annual marketing plan reviews of all brands and products marketed to children.
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Reviewing and revising the company’s marketing guidelines annually.
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Holding regular meetings to address marketing or product questions.
