Licensing: Not in front of the children

Fast food chains have been limited by the threat of further regulation over the promotion of foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS). As a result, children looking for compelling fast food promotions from national chains this April would have been more or less limited to McDonald's and Burger King.

Many chains have pulled away from licensed promotions. Burger King, calling a halt to its kids' TV advertising in December 2006, promised instead to focus its marketing promotions on the quality of its food. The company continues to use licensed characters but its Kids Menu now includes veggie burgers, BK Angus Mini-burgers made from certified Aberdeen Angus beef, and Grapple Bags - bags of apple and grapes.

There's also been a change in tone, according to Atom managing director and former Kellogg's marketer Andy Duff. "The advertising focus seems to have moved away from the toys themselves and on to the food and the healthier choices," he says, "and the gift as a reward is given with a broader choice of menu options."

Elsewhere on the high street, most of the toys are gone and only food remains. KFC has a rich history of licensing, having based meal promotions around properties such as The Simpsons and X2, but for the past three years at least, it has chosen the path of abstinence.

"We no longer have toy promotions in store and we have not targeted children with our advertising or bought airtime on children's channels for a number of years now," says a KFC spokesperson.

Likewise, Pizza Hut has distanced itself from any suggestion that it might be enticing children to live badly. "We have not advertised directly to children for some time and we do not give away any collectible toys with our meals," says a Pizza Hut spokesperson. "Our younger customers are now given an educational activity book and crayons to keep them entertained while they wait for their food."

Where kids' toy promotions remain, there is a sense that the fast food restaurants and the blockbuster Hollywood brands, which formerly enjoyed such a fruitful marriage, have largely agreed to go their separate ways.

Disney drew a line under a decade of McDonald's tie-ins in 2006, and McDonald's current Fairies & Dragons promotion was developed with Canadian firm Fuel Industries in a bid to create intellectual property of its own. A McDonald's spokeperson says: "We intend our future advertising to stimulate young people's imaginations and encourage physical activity, as well as using licensed characters to advertise five-a-day and other food items such as carrot sticks and fruit bags."

The key for the fast food giants has been to avoid an in-store equivalent of the TV advertising ban. Since 1 April last year, Ofcom has decreed that HFSS foods may not be advertised in or around programmes made for, or likely to be of particular appeal to, children aged four to nine. Since 1 January this year, those rules have been expanded to include TV content aimed at children up to 15.

The danger of these controls spreading to in-store promotion currently seems slim. The Food and Drink Advertising and Promotion Forum, established by the Department of Health to examine the role of non-broadcast media, packaging, POS and sponsorship in promoting unhealthy diets to children, has not convened for well over a year.

For the time being, the government's battle seems to have shifted to other fronts. All the same, the climate has changed, apparently for the better. Though if you look at it from the kids' point of view: you don't get nearly as many toys with your burgers these days.

KIDS' MEALS

- McDonald's Happy Meal

Menu options include: hamburger, cheese-burger, fish fingers, Chicken McNuggets, fries, fruit bag, orange juice, carrot sticks, milkshake, Fruit Shoot

Promotion: Fairies & Dragons

Children get: one of four toys, plus a CD-Rom featuring character background and two games

- Burger King Kids' Menu

Menu options include: hamburger, cheeseburger, breaded chicken strips, soft drinks, fries, Grapple Bag, chicken bites, BK Angus Mini-Burgers

Promotion: SpongeBob SquarePants

Children get: a toy

FACT FILE

Where licensed promotions are off the menu

KFC - Hasn't run one for three years

Pizza Hut - No direct advertising to children. Offers activity books and crayons to customers

Disney - Cut 10-year McDonald's link in 2006.