Posted on July 28, 2010 by Christopher Hackford

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice: Advertising to Children

The new coalition government has stated that one of its priorities is the protection of children from excessive commercialisation. This policy aim reflects a general perception in the UK among the governing and chattering classes that advertising is at the root of both this problem and the problem of obesity among children. Eyes are therefore turned to the advertising industry to see what they have done and what they are doing to protect children.

It is helpful therefore that Ofcom have recently released a review showing that since the rules concerning the advertising of foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) came into force in 2007, advertising for HFSS products seen by children had dropped by 37%, and the fall was greater for younger children (a 55% decline).

There are already a number of rules and safeguards in place to protect children, and these are probably set to increase if the proposed extension of the CAP Code into all promotional messages on the internet goes ahead. Our new Ad Guide on advertising to children goes into greater detail on all these areas.

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Posted on April 12, 2010 by Marina Palomba

Primark in Not So Sunny Position With Its New Bikini

Following criticism from consumer protection lobby and parents, the clothing chain Primark has withdrawn the sale of its range of padded bikini tops for girls as young as seven . The company apologised to customers for "causing offence" and is donating profits to a children's charity after the Children's Society accused Primark of "premature sexualisation and unprincipled advertising". 

Failing to observe the Advertising Codes (CAP and BCAP) over sensitive issues such as the sexualisation of children can cause enormous brand damage as well as direct losses caused from having to pull advertising campaigns and, in this case, the entire product. The new Codes coming into force later this year include not only the existing principle that advertising must not cause serious or widespread offence but also a section on children under which advertisers must not cause harm. The commercialisation of childhood is a hot topic for politicians of all parties and particularly with David Cameron. Brand owners cannot risk alienating their customers, governments or consumer groups.

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