chanel
Silver Member
The eagle-eyed regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have a sneaking suspicion that a company offering disgusting pizza, animatronic human-sized mice, and a ball pit may be trying to appeal to children. Or rather, their marketing (the slogan was "Chuck E. Cheese: Where a Kid Can Be a Kid!" last time I checked) may inappropriately appeal to children.
But Chuck E. Cheese is one of 44 marketers who received an "order to file special report" three years ago. The chain, or rather its parents company CEC Entertainment, has now been subpoenaed so that the commission can check up on how that whole voluntary industry self-regulation thing is going. The FTC is just trying to be "supportive" of those self-regulation efforts, you see. Other companies caught in the net include Yum Brands, Wendy's, Sunkist, Red Bull, and Chiquita.
From layman's prespective it's not entirely clear how much self-regulation would satisfy the FTC in the case of the animatronic mouse, since the whole model of Chuck E. Cheese seems to be built on getting kids to whine and complain until their parents take them therealong with 10 of their closest friendsfor an afternoon of plastic and cheese fueled mania.
FTC Suspects Chuck E. Cheese of Marketing to Children - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine
Out of control bureaucrats trying to justify their own jobs. Yes Virginia - Chuck E. Cheese Markets to Children. Tough mouse shit.