The Council of Better Business Bureau's Children's Advertising Review Unit referred ads for two more of the highest-profile recent theatrical releases to the Motion Picture Association of America for its input on whether they violate its standards.
It referred ads for Iron Man to the MPAA last month.
CARU is concerned that ads for Get Smart (“some rude humor, action violence and language") and the latest Indiana Jones movie (“adventure violence and scary images”), both PG-13, have been airing during shows targeted toward kids.
In March, CARU reached an agreement with the MPAA in which it will refer advertisers that intentionally place PG-13 ads during kids’ shows to the MPAA to determine whether they have violated movie-industry guidelines for such advertising. Previously, CARU was making that determination.
CARU has been pushing the movie industry not to advertise PG-13 films during children's shows, but it got pushback from some studios. CARU generally frowns on advertising PG-13 movies during kids’ shows since that designation defines the movie as containing scenes that may not be appropriate for children.
Studios have argued that the movies aren't de facto unsuitable for kids, and that kids can watch them with parental guidance.
