Food Standards Agency Launches Ad Campaign

The Food Standards Agency last night launched a series of TV advertisements raising awareness of traffic light colour-coded front of pack food labels

The ad aired for the first time last night at 7.45pm on ITV during Coronation Street. Other marketing activity to accompany the TV work will feature in the press, on poster sites and via the internet.

In November, Ofcom announced a total ban on junk food ads from all children’s programming, broadcast at any time of day or night, which hold particular appeal for children up to 16 (see Ofcom Bans Junk Food Ads In Children’s Programming).

The Food Standards Agency press ads will run in tabloids and women’s weeklies from the end of the month, whilst the posters will run outside supermarkets across the country from February 12 to 25.

The 10-second TV ads, which each have a slightly different twist, are intended to reflect the straightforward and easy to use nature of traffic light labelling, with a red light meaning the product is high in fat/saturated fat/sugar/salt, an amber light meaning medium and a green light meaning low.

Deirdre Hutton, Food Standards Agency chair,said: “Most manufacturers and retailers are now using front of pack nutritional labelling and this is good news. Some shoppers find extra GDA information useful, and all industry needs to do is add traffic light colours to their GDA schemes to ensure the consumer gets the best of both worlds.

“Our new labelling TV ads, like the traffic light approach, are clear and simple, with the beauty being that these labels speak for themselves.”

Food Standards Agency: www.food.gov.uk