No HFSS advertising to children
The fight against childhood obesity has been taken up a notch with new rules unveiled by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) last week, preventing the advertising of high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products in UK media targeted at under 16s.
Coming into effect in July next year, the new rules – which will apply across all non broadcast media including print, cinema and online and social media – mean:
- Ads that directly or indirectly promote a HFSS product cannot appear in children’s media
- Ads for HFSS products cannot appear in other media where children make up over 25 per cent of the audience
- Ads for HFSS products will not be allowed to use promotions, licensed characters and celebrities popular with children; advertisers may now use those techniques to better promote healthier options.
Any measures designed to protect the health and wellbeing of children are welcome ones, and given that Ofcom research shows that, for the first time, five to 15 year olds are spending more time online than watching TV each week, the inclusion of online and social media in the move is crucial.
There have been strict restrictions in place for TV advertising for some time now, so the extension of the ban is not just a welcome health measure, but a victory for common sense too.
Ian Wright, director general of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), notes, “We fully support this landmark move in UK advertising. Last year, FDF announced its backing for major changes to the way food and drink is advertised, based on our belief that non broadcasting advertising rules should be in line with the strict rules already in place for TV.
“HFSS food and drink ads have long been banned on children’s TV, with under 16s today seeing far fewer of these ads than in recent years. As young people move away from traditional media towards new and social media, we feel it’s important that ad rules keep up with this change.”
