Consumer protection organizations disagree with Walmart's foray into the metaverse. Two new Roblox virtual worlds, Walmart Land and Universe of Play, were launched by the online retailer last autumn with the intention of attracting younger customers. The activities provide Roblox users the chance to, among other things, explore "toy worlds," acquire virtual items that fall from a blimp, and play games with toys and well-known children's characters. However, the groups contend that Walmart is fusing the lines between advertising and original material and fails to adequately disclose that the content in these virtual worlds is fundamentally advertisements and should be marked as such.
Simply put, a participant would not want to be detected as potentially being out of compliance with CARU's program since it may place them on the FTC's radar.
The advocacy groups claim that Walmart's Roblox experience, Universe of Play, is misleadingly marketing Walmart's products and services without properly disclosing that the game itself and the content it contains are actually advertisements in the letter they send to CARU's senior vice president Dona Fraser. The organisations also point out that Walmart is utilizing CARU's COPPA Safe Harbor Program seal to indicate that the game complies with the group's rules.
Inside the petition, numerous parts of the Walmart Roblox experience are described that the groups believe demonstrate the platform's status as a "advergame."
This includes the game's inspiration from Walmart's toy selection and its usage of well-known toys and characters including L.O.L. Surprise!, merchandise with the Jurassic World logo, PAW Patrol, Magic Mixie, Razor scooters, and other things marketed by Walmart in its physical and online stores. The game also exhorts youngsters to "gather the greatest products," and it only makes it clear that it is an advertising in small type. Similar to this, when children explore the island, they open gift boxes that once again show toys, but the word "this is an advertising" is written in a tiny type.
The letter claims that further covert ad disclosures are scattered throughout various portions of the game, such as signs that players' avatars pass by when they gather cash, discover toy chests, or take part in other virtual activities.
Akin to Walmart Land, a Roblox virtual environment where children may play as avatars and where Universe of Play is also promoted, the groups object to it.
Since their debut, both games have had more than 12 million visitors, according to the letter. Because the "Age Guidelines" for the games on Roblox are marked as "N/A," both games are suitable for kids of all ages. The letter emphasizes that marketing tactics like entertainment do not "completely comprehend the persuasive goal" for children under the age of 13.
According to Laura Smith, legal director of TINA.org, "Walmart's brazen use of stealth marketing geared at young children who are developmentally unable to understand the promotional content is not just awful, it's dishonest and violates truth-in-advertising regulations."
Because of its younger user base, Roblox has already attracted the attention of other companies looking to market to kids, including Sanrio (Hello Kitty) and Mattel, which last year launched a He-Man game on the platform. Mattel also partnered with Forever 21 in 2021 on a Barbie-inspired collection and Kellogg’s debuted “Froot Loops” world.
Outside of kids’ brands, many other companies — like H&M, Spotify, Netflix, Samsung, Chipotle, Nike, Vans, and more — have targeted Roblox’s younger users, too.
To what extent Walmart either does or does not have to make adjustments to its Roblox games could help to set precedent as more brands enter gaming worlds and the metaverse and the ad industry defines its practices for this new form of social networking.
