Children and advertising
Ever since our first year of operation, the ASA has been working hard to protect children. In 1962 we looked into whether ads for horror films were scaring children. Today our ongoing commitment can be seen by our recent decision to tighten up on the use of sexual imagery on posters and our involvement in the launch of a new website for parents, ParentPort.
Children deserve special protection
Why do we place a particular emphasis on protecting young people? By virtue of their age and inexperience children are more credulous and vulnerable than grown-ups. They don’t necessarily have the understanding of the ways of the commercial world possessed by most adults.
This means that the advertising rules surrounding children are very strict. No ad should contain anything likely to result in children’s physical, mental or moral harm. There are also rules about the advertising of products like gambling and alcohol, to make sure they are not advertised inappropriately at children.
And it’s not just ads addressed to, targeted at or featuring children that have to adhere to the rules. Even when ads are aimed at an adult audience, advertisers have to take great care to place them appropriately and not cause harm or distress to children.
Responding to public concern
Earlier this year Reg Bailey, the Chief Executive of Mothers’ Union, was commissioned by the Government to conduct a review into the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood. His report, Letting Children be Children’ called for action to address parents’ concerns about a ‘sexualised culture’ surrounding children.
We welcomed the recommendations. We’ve already begun to take positive action in response to them. And we’re committed to further work to ensure that children continue to be protected. For example, our new statement on posters makes clear that if advertisers use sexual imagery, they are now more likely to face either a placement restriction or an outright ban.
The placement of an ad has a direct bearing on whether the ASA will judge it to be acceptable. So an ad that might be acceptable in a newspaper might not be on a billboard.
Sexualisation
The sexualisation of children is, of course, strictly prohibited by the Advertising Codes. No ad featuring a child or anyone who appears to be under 18 years of age should place them in a sexual context such as provocative or inappropriate poses and attire, overly ‘made-up’ or in states of undress. Fortunately this is not a creative route that advertisers commonly choose to take. Historically there are only a very small handful of ads that have breached the rules on these grounds.
Websites
We know that parents are particularly concerned about what their children see online and on social networks. A big step forward in enhancing protections for children came on 1 March 2011 when our remit was extended further online. Previously we could only look into complaints about online ads that appeared in paid space, like banner ads, but our new remit covers marketing on companies’ own websites and in their social network spaces.
It is unrealistic to prevent children from seeing ads at all. But the rules, and tough ASA action, ensure that the vast majority of ads that children see or hear are not inappropriate.
ASA adjudications:
-
Zazzle Inc – August 2011
We upheld complaints about an ad for a children’s T-shirt with the slogan “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!” for being irresponsible .
-
Jack Wills Ltd – April 2011
This clothing catalogue featuring images of partially clothed young men and women kissing and embracing was banned for being overtly sexual.
-
Officers Club 1979 Ltd – March 2011
We ruled that an ad featuring a photo of a woman from the neck to the waist wearing a small bikini top and labeled "Awesome Views” was unsuitable to be displayed in an untargeted medium where it could be seen by children.
Further reading: