(MINNEAPOLIS)- The National Institute on Media
and the Family furthered its investigation into the
buzz marketing industry today by revealing that leading
WOMMA member and buzz marketer, Bolt Media, is promoting
porn and sexually explicit material to children on the
Internet.
Bolt says on its site that it targets children as young
as 13 for its advertiser driven campaigns, and its Game
Revolution section is currently hosting a download that
allows children to unlock hidden porn in the Grand
Theft Auto: San Andreas video game.
"We found that Bolt link during our investigation
into the pornographic scenes that have been uncovered
with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," National
Institute Founder and President Dr. David Walsh said.
"We couldn't allow these marketing firms to get
away with this while groups like WOMMA protect them."
But the Grand Theft Auto download is not the
only porn that Bolt is pushing at kids. On the site,
the word-of-mouth marketing company surveys its users,
some of whom as young as 13, about "porn versus
the real thing." The survey asks kids to judge
whether porn or real types of sex are better.
"We once again call on WOMMA to adopt a meaningful
ethics code when it comes to marketing to our children,"
Walsh said. "We call on other WOMMA members to
demand responsibility in marketing to all children,
because otherwise WOMMA will never be a credible organization."
The National Institute on Media and the Family launched
its investigation into buzz and word-of-mouth-marketers
last fall, and, earlier this year, called on the Word
of Mouth Marketing Association to include parental consent
or parental notification when members market to children.
To date, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association has
not complied with the Institute's request.
Bolt's corporate Web site claims it is the "#1
youth hangout on the Web, bringing together 4.5 million
young people each month…" The site goes on
to say "Authenticity is at the core of what we
do."
According to the statistics on the site, the key demographic
includes users aged 13 to 25 (splits at 18), with an
equal division of male and female users.
