Food Advertising - digesting changes to the rules

Food advertising ‘Food, glorious food!’. Or is it? If the furore that currently surrounds the advertising of food is anything to go by then the answer is - not necessarily. Food advertising has become headline news. Growing concern about the problem of childhood obesity in the UK has seen a plump finger being pointed at advertisements for ‘unhealthy’ products as a contributory factor to the ‘public health time bomb’ that obesity will create. As a result, various groups from Government to advertisers and health campaigners to regulators have waded into the debates surrounding the effect that advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) are having on our health, in particular the health of children. Food advertising is a very political hot potato.

In response to all this, Ofcom, the ASA’s co-regulatory partner for broadcast advertising, was charged by the Government with tightening the TV advertising rules for food and drink.  Their recent public consultation into the issue saw vastly differing views and interests, competing agendas and standpoints.

Just desserts?

The result? After an exhaustive consultation Ofcom has announced that all advertisements for foods that that are high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) will be removed from all programmes which hold particular appeal for children up to the age of 16. This includes a total ban in and around all children’s programming and on dedicated children’s channels. Perhaps predictably, neither the advertising industry nor health campaigners are happy, with the former seeing the rules as overly restrictive and the latter holding the belief that they don’t go far enough.

It is not just the scheduling of the advertisements that will be affected. The content of ads for HFSS products is also set to change. The new content rules are designed to work alongside the scheduling restrictions. For example, ads for HFSS food and drink products will not be able to feature celebrities or cartoon characters which are popular with children or use free gifts in promotions in TV ads targeted at primary school children.

Because the rules, originally proposed for under-9s, were expanded to protect under 16s the types of programmes that the restrictions apply to has also been extended. Consequently ads for HFFS food and drinks will not be able to appear around youth-orientated and adult programmes with a significantly higher than average proportion of viewers under the age of 16. This will include specialist music programmes and general entertainment programmes.

What is HFSS?

Defining HFSS food and drink products is not as simple as it might seem. Sugary sweets and drinks may fit the bill but other less obvious foods could also meet the criteria. Cheese is a product that is high in fat but it is also rich in protein and calcium. Should it be banned from being advertised around programmes that appeal to children under 16?

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has developed a Nutrient Profiling scheme in order to categorise HFSS foods. Those foods that are rated as high in fat, salt or sugar when measured against the scheme will be subject to the advertising restrictions. Foods that fall below the levels set by the FSA will still be allowed to advertise throughout the schedules.

New regulatory mix

So how will the new restrictions work and be implemented, what are the ramifications for regulation and advertisers and ultimately how will all this affect the consumer?

One thing is certain, the TV advertising landscape, and, perhaps, TV itself, will change as a result of the new rules.  These changes will be phased in over the next two years.

In summary:

Scheduling

- HFSS ads will not be permitted in or around programmes made for children or those likely to be of particular appeal to 4-9 year olds from 1 April 2007.

- HFSS ads will not be permitted in or around programmes likely to be of particular appeal to 4 -15 year olds from 1 January 2008.

- HFSS ads will be banned from all children’s channels from 1 January 2009.

Content

- The revised content rules will come into force for new campaigns immediately. All existing campaigns will have to comply with the new rules from 1 July 2007.

Now that the rules are in place the Advertising Standards Authority is responsible for administering the advertising codes, responding to complaints and ensuring food advertisements are compliant with the tightened rules.

It is not just broadcast advertising that is set to change. There is now pressure on non-broadcast advertisers to tighten their rules to reflect the restrictions that are in place for TV. This would promote a consistency between advertising codes and ensure that the same levels of protection for consumers are in place across advertising media. Although there is yet to be an announcement on exactly what the changes to the non-broadcast code will be and when they will be implemented it is certain that the rules will alter and be brought in line with the TV code as soon as possible.

A recipe for success?

The advertising rules may be set to change but the debates, and the headlines, will continue. Will restricting the amount of advertising of HFFS products to children under 16 have an effect on childhood obesity rates? If Ofcom had introduced a complete pre-9pm watershed ban as many health campaigners hoped, would this have made a difference?

It is generally accepted that when it comes to addressing why children are becoming more obese, advertising of HFSS products is just one aspect of a much wider societal problem. Although Ofcom acknowledged through their research that TV advertising has a ‘modest, direct effect on children’s food choices’ it also cited the impact of other significant factors such as family eating habits, exercise, parental influence and school policy in contributing to the problem.