Restrictions On Food Advertising Could Cost £375 Million
Proposed food marketing restrictions could cost the advertising industry upwards of £375 million, around three quarters of its total annual revenue, according to figures from industry regulator Ofcom and the Advertising Association.
The figures suggest that products aimed primarily at children would bear the brunt of any restrictive legislation, as they account for the majority of food advertising revenue. Confectionery, fast food, soft drinks and cereal products are all in the firing line as the Government continues to mull a crack down on junk food marketing.
A proposed pre-watershed ban on the marketing of fast food was recently branded as “ineffective” by Ofcom. The regulator delivered the findings of research commissioned by Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, which found that 70% of television watched by children takes place outside of their designated airtime.
However, food advertisers may still have cause for concern with regard to a pre-watershed ban, as a forthcoming white paper from the Food Standards Agency could force a re-think of the super-regulator’s current laissez fair position (see Ofcom Rules Out “Ineffective” Ban On Junk Food Ads).
It is clear that the Government is planning tight restrictions on food advertisers in the same way as it has tightened regulations on alcohol advertising. A source quoted by the Business claims that such restrictions could make the marketing of food products “practically impossible”, just as several alcohol producers have been impaired by the crackdown on their industry’s marketing abilities (see Ofcom Calls Time On Loosely Regulated Alcohol Adverts).
A spokeswoman for the Advertising Association warned of the wider implications of a ban on food advertising, claiming that the quality of children’s programming would be impacted should advertisers be forced to withdraw from the airspace surrounding them.
She said: “There would be a huge loss of revenue to the advertising industry. That would translate to broadcasters most of all and their loss of ability to compete with the BBC and other European channels who would still be allowed to carry food advertising. It could also result in the loss of children’s programming if it was banned during children’s airtime, which is the most likely to happen. The quality of that programming would go downhill because they wouldn’t have the money to sustain it. That is one of the main concerns.”
Recent research conducted by the BBC revealed that over three quarters of the UK’s television viewers would support a ban on junk food advertising during children’s programming to combat the growing problem of obesity amongst young people. The Corporation’s Healthy Britain poll questioned more than 1,000 adults and showed that an outright ban on junk food advertising was supported across all age groups, with a staggering 81% of those aged over 65 and a further 60% of those aged between 18 and 24 prepared to back the idea (see Viewers Support Outright Ban On Fast Food Commercials).
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk Advertising Association: 020 7828 2771 www.adassoc.org.uk
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