Advertising to children and the influence of advertising on children are high on the political agenda in the UK and globally; they are equally high on advertisers' agendas.
ISBA and our sister bodies in the advertising industry take these challenges and responsibilities very seriously. Advertising codes, here and globally, reflect the need to provide higher levels of protection for children. Our codes provide this protection, defining children as under 16.
Protecting children in a commercial world
Responsible advertising is at the heart of ISBA’s activities. Whilst we reject campaign group calls for a commercial free childhood we do strongly believe that advertisers have a special duty of responsibility when advertising to children. The UK Advertising Codes are a major contribution to protecting children and helping parents. For example pester power, know banned by the EU, has been prohibited in the UK for many years.
As the significance of digital media grows, not least for children’s access to content, it becomes ever more important for advertisers, parents and government to work together to equip children and families with the knowledge of how to avoid undesirable content.
With the AA we have made inputs to the Buckingham Review and more recently to the Bailey Review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood. One of the industry outcomes from this Review is the setting up of a high level Children’s Panel at the Advertising Association to review practices and advise the industry about our codes. Advertisers , supported by industry bodies have signed the Children's Pledge not to use Brand Ambassadors or Peer-to-Peer marketing with children. The ASA have also set up the ParentPort website in response to the Review
ISBA is a member of the Responsible Advertising and Children Programme, a cross industry group brought together in Brussels and the USA by the World Federation of Advertisers. For advice about the EU Food Pledge visit the food advertising pages.
Advice and education
ISBA and the Department for Education co-authored Working with Schools - best practice principles which aims to guide schools and business on the need for great care when allowing messages into schools. The key message is that the educational benefits must outweigh the business ones.
A similar set of guidance is provided with ISBA support by Consumer Focus Scotland, together with more joint guidance on Commercial Sponsorship in the Public Sector.
More help for advertisers working in schools is provided by the Media Smart project. Detailed lesson plans and audio visual material is available for teachers to help primary school children understand advertising and the purpose of these commercial messages. The recently published digital lessons are also available for schools.
Industry best practice and links to the rules on advertising to children can also be found at the CHECK
website, hosted by the Advertising Association.