Advertisers Grilled Over Relentless Junk Food Promotions
The influential House of Commons health committee has launched a scathing attack on the advertising industry for its ‘cynical exploitation’ of pester power in the promotion of junk food to children.
In a wide-ranging report into the growing problem of obesity, the committee deplored ‘relentless’ promotional campaigns which explicitly aim to undermine parental control by exploiting pester power.
The health committee emphasised advertising for Wotsits in which agencies were briefed by the brand-owner, Walkers Crisps, to create a campaign with the strategic aim of getting children to “pester mum” when she next goes shopping.
In an attempt to combat the growing threat to the nation’s health posed by obesity, the report recommends an industry-led, voluntary withdrawal of television advertising of unhealthy food to children.
The committee suggests this should be backed up by action to reduce the promotion of junk foods in schools and a wide-reaching curb on celebrity endorsements of unhealthy snacks, such as Gary Lineker’s work with Walkers and David Beckham’s promotion of Pepsi (see Footballers Criticised For Junk Food Ads).
The findings also criticised a recent proposal put forward by Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, for advertising agencies to use their ‘creativity’ to promote healthier lifestyles and side-step a ban on advertising to children (see Advertisers Urged To Use Creativity In Obesity Battle).
The report stated: “Advertising agencies are commercial businesses and cannot be expected pro-actively to fund the large scale promotion of healthy foods for the public good. They will clearly be able to put their creative genius to good ends if they are commissioned to do so.”
The advertising industry is predictably keen to avoid a ban on the promotion of fast food to children, claiming that such restrictions would be ‘totally ineffective’ in improving people’s eating habits (see Advertisers Rally Against Ban On Fast Food Promotion).
Advertising Association director general, Andrew Brown, said recently: “It is argued that the cumulative effect of advertising is leading to poorer diets. However, this does not fit with the fact that the total amount of money spent on advertising food has consistently fallen over the last fifteen years, from around 15% of all advertising in 1986 to around 9% in 2002.”
House of Commons Health Committee: www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk
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