Footballers Criticised For Junk Food Ads
David Beckham and Gary Lineker are among some of the UK’s most famous footballers to come under attack from the Food Commission for advertising fast-food, confectionery and soft drinks.
According to a new survey from the Food Commission, Premier League football clubs and national football organisations are compromising their school-linked health promotion activities by advertising junk food brands.
Many of the best known faces of Premier League football have become synonymous with these so-called junk-food brands, with David Beckham promoting Pepsi and Gary Lineker advertising Walkers crisps.
The Commission has criticised these footballers along with nine Premier League clubs, including Manchester United for its high profile link-up with Pepsi, Tottenham Hotspur for working with McDonald’s and Sunderland City for accepting sponsorship from Coca Cola and McDonald’s.
The sport’s co-ordinating body, the Football Association, was also singled out as a poor example, after circulating nutrition advice to schools and football academies written and sponsored by Mars.
Anne Seeley, nutritionist and campaigns officer for the Food Commission, commented: “With rising levels of obesity and diabetes in children, top footballers could be excellent role models for children, demonstrating the link between good diet and good health. But instead we see adverts showing top players from Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers drinking Pepsi, the premier league logo on Walkers Crisps, and the Football Association encouraging children to eat chocolate bars and wear McDonald’s branded football kit.”
Despite the ethical problems implicit in sporting figures promoting junk foods it has proved to be a successful and lucrative formula for advertisers. According to the latest annual ads that make the news survey, David Beckham’s presence in the Pepsi campaign made it the most written about and talked about campaign of last year (see Beckham Tops 2002 Ads In The News Survey).
Food Commission: www.foodcomm.org.uk
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