Entertainers and film stars in the Creative Coalition are asking President Bush to reject a bill authored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) that would regulate entertainment marketing.
The Media Marketing Accountability Act would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to pursue entertainment marketers for false and deceptive advertising if they market adult-rated fare to children. It was introduced in April, on the heels of an FTC follow-up to a September 2000 report on entertainment marketing. The April report found that film and videogame marketers have improved their marketing practices, but music companies haven't (June PROMO). The bill is before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Separately, movie fans filed 10 class-action lawsuits against film studios last week for false advertising, charging that the studios treat movie reviewers to trips and celebrity meetings in exchange for good reviews. Suits from a group called Citizens for Truth in Movie Advertising (and four individuals) are against Universal, Fox, MGM, Sony, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Artisan, and Lions Gate and ask that studios either be forced to stop reviewer junkets or disclose such perks. The suit also seeks damages. The suits were spurred in part by Sony's admission last month that its marketing staff made up a fictional critic, David Manning, to tout Sony flicks. Two ad executives were suspended 30 days without pay, per "Variety." Connecticut's attorney general is investigating movie marketing practices because of the incident.
