This may be the stupidest piece of Superman Returns controversy to date - the Children’s Advertising Review Unit, a self-governing ad industry organizational watchdog group has publically shaken their fingers at Warner Brothers for advertising SR during Saturday morning kid’s programming. Why? Because the flick was a PG-13 release and not PG or lower. Some people just don’t seem to have anything better to do with their time.

Full press release after the jump.

CARU REVIEWS ADVERTISING FOR ‘SUPERMAN RETURNS’
Recommends Warner Bros. Refrain From Advertising PG-13 Films During Kids’ TV Time

New York, NY – August xx, 2006 – The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the
Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., has recommended Warner Brothers refrain from
advertising “Superman Returns,� rated PG-13, during television children’s programming
hours.

The advertising came to the attention of CARU, the children’s advertising industry’s self-
regulatory forum, through routine monitoring of advertising directed to children.

The film at issue has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children’s Advertising provide that products and
content which are inappropriate for children should not be advertised or promoted
directly to children.
During the course of CARU’s inquiry, the advertiser stated that both the Superman
Returns commercial and the film were reviewed and approved by the Cartoon Network’s
standards and practices division.
“Although CARU is cognizant of the fact that the networks review all commercials they
air, CARU is not bound by their assessments. CARU’s Guidelines were specifically
written to reach beyond the legal issues of truthfulness and accuracy and to take into
account the uniquely impressionable and vulnerable child audience,� the decision states.

Warner Bros., in its advertiser’s statement said the company continues to “believe that
the placement of the advertisement was consistent with CARU’s guidelines.�

“We value our brand and are committed to responsible marketing,� the company said.
“We will continue our current practice of making media placement decisions for our
films on a case-by-case basis. We do not intend to appeal CARU’s decision.�

For a copy of the decision or for press inquiries, please contact Linda Bean, Director of
Communications, 212-705-0129.

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The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. (AAAA), the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB). Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation. NARC is the body that establishes the policies and procedures for the CBBB’s National Advertising Division (NAD) and Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), as well as for the National Advertising Review Board (NARB).

NAD and CARU are the investigative arms of the advertising industry’s voluntary self-regulation program. Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media. The National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate those cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level. This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community; CARU is financed by the children’s advertising industry, while NAD/NARC/NARB’s sole source of funding is derived from membership fees paid to the CBBB. For more information about advertising self regulation, please visit www.narcpartners.org.

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