Food
The growing and seemingly intractable social problem of obesity, particularly in children, is resulting in calls for ever more intervention by government. Pressured by health and so-called consumer organisations, ministers and regulators search for policies they hope might help them halt the rising numbers of overweight children.
Recently food advertising has become an easy target for the single-issue campaigners who want to see action. Despite the evidence showing little relationship between the food ads children see and the foods they choose, the campaigners have called for greater restrictions – often it seems they think that because something, even if of questionable efficacy, can be done it must be done.In early 2007, the broadcasting regulator Ofcom restricted the television advertising to children of food that is high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS). The ban was extended across the non-broadcast media and then to radio. ISBA said at the time that advertisers are as concerned as anyone else to help find a solution to the problem but that an advertising ban will not help make children thinner. We said that other factors such as exercise and parental influence are far more important. In autumn that year, the Government admitted that its current approach wasn’t working and put back its 2010 target to halt childhood obesity to 2020.
ISBA also highlighted the threat to the UK children’s television industry that the banned advertising previously supported. Ofcom has since released a report saying that its own food ad ban has indeed reduced broadcasters’ advertising revenue around, and desire to invest in, UK children’s programmes.
Related documents
- Briefing: the new Ofcom food ad rules
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62 Kb | 23 Feb 2007
- Best practice: online promotion of food and drink to children
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39 Kb | 17 Jul 2007
A member says
The way that we as advertisers work is made more challenging by sometimes boisterous public debates. Thank goodness ISBA is there to put the industry view and to keep the debate rational.
P&G
