Food and drink companies again pledge to limit junk food advertising targeted at children.

Ten major food and beverage companies last week pledged to tighten voluntary restrictions on advertising to children under 12 years old, but the move did little to quiet critics who contend that marketing junk food to youngsters has contributed to the rise in childhood obesity. Marketers vowed to

devote at least half of their television, radio, print and Internet advertising directed at children to promoting more-healthful products or encouraging healthy lifestyles. They said they would show only healthful products or health messages in interactive games, and pledged to refrain from advertising in elementary schools or engaging in product placement, among other measures.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said the new initiative "shows real promise, and I hope will encourage more competition in developing and marketing healthier products that are attractive to kids and their parents."

Both the advertising initiative and the revisions to the guidelines stemmed from an in-depth review of the guidelines led by Joan Z. (Jodie) Bernstein, a former director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "These are important developments," Bernstein said. "The initiative represents an innovative effort to promote healthier dietary choices and lifestyles to children. I commend these ten companies for coming together in a meaningful new program that will have strong oversight."

The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) and the National Advertising Review Council (NARC) also said they will fully support the changes in advertising policy. CBBB president and CEO Steven J. Cole said: "Self-regulation works best when backed by strong and effective accountability. We will closely monitor adherence to the participant commitments. This program is an excellent example of how voluntary self-regulation and the Better Business Bureaus advance marketplace trust."

The CBBB has also announced the ratification of significant revisions to its self-regulatory guidelines for children's advertising. The revised guidelines strengthen the ability of the CBBB's Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), which monitors all advertising directed to children under 12, to provide guidance and oversight to all industry sectors.

Critics were quick to dismiss the move, which they said still gives the companies ample leeway to target unhealthy foods to kids. Companies can still advertise junk food by couching it in a health message, said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer watchdog group. "If a 'healthy lifestyle message' means that Ronald McDonald is pedaling a bike while peddling junk food, that message still does more harm than good," he said.