MCDONALD'S LAUNCHES WEB SITE
By Adnews Staff
While the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering restrictions on World Wide Web marketing aimed at children, U.S.-based McDonald's Corp. has launched a Web site with kiddy content. It's actually divided into two sections, one for kids and one for adults. The youngsters' section offers games and an on-line coloring book. The adult pages cover topics such as McDonald's around the world, food and nutrition, McDonald's and the environment, and job and career opportunities with company. There is also information on its sports sponsorships and a catalog of merchandise bearing the McDonald's logo. Organic Online of San Francisco created the site. The Federal Trade Commission is considering a ban on hypertext links jumping from children's content areas to advertising sites, and a prohibition against marketers and media companies obtaining personal information from children, such as their ages and e-mail addresses. The federal body is also considering demands from concerned groups that advertising and promotion be clearly separated from other content, and product mascots banned as spokespersons.