Regulating food advertising

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Regulating food advertising

• Lynsay Taffe, Policy and Public Affairs Advisor
• Advertising Standards Authority UK

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Who am I?

• Lynsay Taffe, Policy and Public Affairs Advisor
• Responsible for all of our communications with
  Government at a local, national and international
  level
• Responsible for developing ASA policy positions
• Advising the Chairman and Director-General

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Today

• How UK effective advertising self-regulation
  works
• Current regulation of food advertising incl
  examples of ads
• The food advertising to children debate what
  next for the UK?
• EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation

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Why self-regulation?

• Maintaining confidence in marketing
  communications generally
• Avoiding an arms race in claims
• Saving costly and protracted battles in the
  courts
• Corporate social responsibility
• Flexible regulatory instrument
• Promoting media pluralism and choice
• Paid for entirely by industry

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How it works in the UK

• Advertisers, agencies and media commit to legal,
  decent, honest and truthful
• Codes maintain standards and fair competition
• Independent ASA adjudicates on complaints and
  monitors compliance
• Not a voluntary system

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About the ASA

• The UK one-stop shop for advertising complaints
• It is both self- and co-regulatory effective
  self-regulation
• Established in 1962 to cover non-broadcast
  advertising (press, posters, cinema etc)
  self-regulation
• In November 2004 assumed responsibility for
  broadcast advertising TV and Radio
  co-regulation

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About the ASA (2)

• ASA adjudicatory part of the system
• Investigates complaints under the advertising
  codes
• Publishes adjudications online
• Identifies problems through own compliance and
  survey activities
• Independent of the industry and government
• Operates according to published standards of
  service
• Doesnt create, amend or write the Codes

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The code owners

• Two Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP),
  one broadcast and one non-broadcast
• Police advertising in their media
• Write and enforce the advertising codes

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Self-regulation
Write the rules Take action against offenders Pay
for the ASA
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How is the system funded?

• Arms-length funding by industry
• Funding bodies Asbof / Basbof
• 0.1 levy on ad space
• 0.2 on mailsort contracts
• Yields significant resources
• Independence

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Self co-regulation

• Broadcast co-regulation
• Contractual relationship with Ofcom
• Ofcom retains final approval on all Code changes
• Broadcasters bound by licence conditions
• All broadcast advertising pre-vetted before it
  appears
• Ofcom takes action against offenders

• Non-broadcast self-regulation
• Established by the advertising industry
• Ad industry writes the Code
• Advertisers take responsibility up front
• No legal powers, but CMARs
• Ad industry imposes its own sanctions

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Relationship with statutory Regulators

• Non-broadcast - Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
• Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations
  1988 (as amended)
• Replicated in other areas e.g. gambling.
• Broadcast Office of Communications (Ofcom)
• Revoke Licenses
• Levy fines
• No Code changes without Ofcom approval

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Remit

• BCAP Codes
• TV and radio ads not sponsorship or programmes

• CAP (non-broadcast) Code
• Print Ads
• Outdoor Ads
• Cinema and Video ads
• Direct Marketing
• Sales Promotions
• Banner ads and pop-ups
• Text messages

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ASA Council
Lord Borrie Chairman
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Why it works in UK

• Size of the UK ad market
• Levy of 0.1 of media costs
• Resources to do the job
• Independence from pressure
• Other models are available

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Food Advertising
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What do the Codes say?

• Food is not currently a special category within
  the Codes
• All advertisements should be legal, decent,
  honest and truthful
• Should be prepared with a sense of responsibility
  to consumers and to society
• All advertisers must hold substantiation before
  they make the claim

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Misleadingness

• Advertisers/ broadcasters must hold evidence to
  support all claims
• Advertisements should be presented in such a way
  that it is clear they are commercial
  communications.

• No advertisement may mislead directly or by
  implication, exaggeration, ambiguity or omission.

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Weight Control

• Weight reduction regimens must not be directed at
  or appeal to under 18s
• Marketing comms must not suggest that it is
  desirable to be underweight (BMI of less than
  18.5)
• Diet plans must be nutritionally well-balanced
• Specific claims about loss of precise amounts of
  weight within a stated period are prohibited
• Etc etc etc

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Rules surrounding children and food

• The Codes have specific rules surrounding
  advertising to children (Child is a person under
  16)
• Marketing communications addressed to, targeted
  at or featuring children should contain nothing
  that is likely to result in their physical,
  mental or moral harm
• Marketing communications should not actively
  encourage them to eat or drink at or near
  bedtime, to eat frequently throughout the day or
  to replace main meals with confectionary or snack
  foods (just the CAP Code)

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Pester Power

• TV Code Ads must not directly advise or ask
  children to buy or to ask their parents or others
  to make enquiries or purchases
• Radio Code Advertisements must not directly
  urge children to buy products or ask adults to
  buy products for them
• CAP Code Marketing communications addressed to
  or targeted at children should not actively
  encourage them to make a nuisance of themselves
  to parents or others and should not undermine
  parental authority
• Also should not make direct appeals to kids
  unless it is a product that would be likely to
  interest children and one that they could
  reasonably afford

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ASA Rulings
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McDonalds
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Danone Shape
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Tetley Tea
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McVities Go Ahead
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Walkers Crisps
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ASA rulingsKelloggs Frosties
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KFC TV, 2005
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Non-broadcast

• Bad publicity
• Media refusal
• Withdrawal of trading privileges
• Industry pressure
• Poster pre-vetting
• Referral to Office of Fair Trading

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Broadcast

• The ASA can
• Ban or apply timing restriction
• Request Ofcom to
• Fine broadcaster (for repeat offences or very
  serious breaches)
• Remove broadcast license

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UK action on food advertising to children
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Choosing Health

• UK Government White Paper published December 2004
  
• Key theme was responsibility
• Want to see a change in the nature and balance of
  food advertising by 2007 or face legislative
  intervention
• 1 of many measures announced

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Choosing Health cont

• Focus is on primary school aged children
• Research shows that advertising has less than a
  2 impact on childrens eating preferences
• Therefore the aim is to make changes to the Codes
  that are proportionate to the impact
• Advertising restrictions alone will not work. Any
  changes must be part of a wide ranging programme
  to improve eating habits amongst the general
  population.

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So what has happened?

• Nutrient Profiling Model developed by the UK Food
  Standards Agency www.foodstandards.gov.uk
• Government believes that advertising restrictions
  should be for foods High in Fat, Salt and Sugar
  (HFSS foods)
• NP passed to Ofcom in Dec 2005

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Ofcom TV Ad Rules Consultation

• Public consultation from
• March 2006 June 2006

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What was in the Consultation?

• BCAP Content Rules
• Govern the techniques that advertisers can use in
  ads
• 1 set of rules have been consulted upon
• OFCOM Volume and Scheduling Restrictions
• New rules are aimed at reducing the number of
  advertising impacts that a child will see
• 3 different scheduling and restriction options
• Never any HFSS advertising in pre-school
  programming

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BCAP Content Proposal

• Ads must avoid anything likely to encourage poor
  nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in
  children
• Promotional offers not to be targeted at kids lt9
• Celebrities and licensed characters must be used
  with social responsibility and not targeted at
  kids lt9

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BCAP Content Proposal

• Advertisements should not
• Encourage or condone excessive consumption
• Disparage good dietary practice
• Encourage or condone damaging oral health care
  practices
• Nutritional claims must be supported by
  scientific evidence and not targeted at
  pre-school aged children

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BCAP Content Proposal

• Strong rules on pester power beyond EU law.
• Advertisements
• Must be prepared with a sense of social
  responsibility
• Should not encourage children to ask their
  parents or other adults to buy
• Should not encourage kids to make a nuisance of
  themselves
• Should not imply inferiority if kids dont have
  the product
• Shouldnt appeal to loyalty or emotions
• Should not use hard sell techniques

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Volume scheduling proposals

• Option 1 Exclusion of HFSS food advertising
  from childrens airtime and programmes of
  particular interest to children
• Option 2 Exclusion of all food advertising from
  childrens airtime and programmes of particular
  interest to children
• Option 3 Mixture of scheduling and volume
  restrictions. Limited seconds of advertising per
  hour
• And
• Option 4 invited suggestions from stakeholders

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And the result is.?

• We still dont know!
• An announcement is expected imminently Nov 2006
• The non-broadcast advertising rules will, as far
  as possible, reflect the new TV rules and
• The Radio Advertising Code will also be amended

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What we do know

• The Codes will be changed and will become the
  strictest rules governing food advertising to
  children anywhere in the world
• The rules must be in place during 2007 to satisfy
  the Government otherwise there is a threat of
  legislation
• Regardless of what the rules are, the ASA can be
  relied upon to enforce them fairly and rigorously

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How ads are changing
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EU Focus
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EU Focus

• Pressure is also coming from the EU although
  self-regulation is being given the opportunity to
  work i.e. the DG SANCO Obesity Round Table
  initiative
• Revision of the Television without Frontiers
  Directive
• EASA members will also react to legislation and
  regulatory changes affecting the Codes

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Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation

• Nutritional and Health Claims Regulation due to
  be agreed by the end of 2006
• Will govern the claims that companies can make
  about their foods
• General list of claims
• Special list of claims
• All claims will be pre-approved

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Conclusions

• Food advertising is currently under a great deal
  of scrutiny from various groups, although
  complaints levels from consumers are low
• ASA will react fairly to any changes implemented
  to the Codes by BCAP and CAP
• Self-regulation is an integral part of the
  advertising landscape in the UK and must be
  maintained legislative options are not more
  likely to achieve compliance

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www.asa.org.uk