Youth researcher Dubit hits back at press criticism

Articles in the Sunday Times, the Daily Mail and The Sun alleged that the firm was enlisting children over the age of seven to promote brands including Dr Pepper, Cheesestrings, Barbie and Sprite on social networking sites.

Speaking in the Sunday Times, Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at Kent University said: ”It’s a tragedy. What should be an area where kids just hang out with each other and message each other now becomes an extension of the shopping mall.”

A 12-year old girl in the same article said she was going to receive £25 in gift vouchers per week “just to say stuff online about sweets and games”.

The firm has hit back with a statement on its website branding the article “extremely misleading” and addressed some of the issues raised.

Firstly, Dubit said it does not “promote, endorse or agree to work with the promotion of junk food to anyone under the age of 16” in accordance with the regulations and guidelines that prohibit this.

The agency said that only children over the age of 16 worked on the Dr Pepper project while the work for Cheesestrings was carried out by mothers who were part of its Family Panel. Dubit added that the Barbie project was carried out four years ago and involved mothers and daughters working together to receive an MP3 player.

Dubit’s statement went on to say: “We do not pay people aged 12 to ‘say stuff online about sweets’, but we will send as much cool stuff out to our Insiders [panel members] as brands will allow – as long as these are suitable and do not contravene any regulations, guidelines or good old fashioned common sense.”

The firm also dismissed allegations in the press that some of its Insiders were involved in “sometimes promoting things they may not even like”.

“We only involve Insiders in campaigns where they have previously stated they like a particular brand, product or service,” Dubit said.