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Television Advertising of Food and Drink Products to Children – Statement and Further Consultation

Foreword

The growth of childhood obesity is a significant public health concern.

In December 2003, as part of its wider approach to the issue, the Government asked Ofcom to consider a strengthening of the regulation of food and drink advertising on television.

At that point, much was speculated but comparatively little was known about the extent to which the television advertising of food and drink products directly influenced childhood dietary preferences. Ofcom therefore began an analysis – arguably the most comprehensive undertaken anywhere in the world – of the factors which shape children’s nutrition. This sought to place television advertising in the context of other influences such as parental demographics, trends in family eating habits, school policy, public understanding of nutrition, food labelling and exercise.

Our research assessed the views and experiences of many thousands of parents, teachers, nutritionists and, of course, children. Our thinking has also been informed by detailed contributions from broadcasters, consumer bodies, health bodies, the advertising industry, Government, Parliamentarians and food manufacturers, amongst many others.

Three significant facts have emerged from this analysis and subsequent public consultation.

The first is that Ofcom’s role in tackling childhood obesity is important but limited in scope. Others, particularly parents, schools, Government and the food industry, will need to continue to provide the concerted approach required substantively to tackle child obesity.

Second, television advertising has only a modest direct effect on childhood dietary habits. Other factors in the family home, playground, school dining room and playing fields have a greater role in driving up levels of childhood obesity when compared to the role played by commercial advertising airtime.

Finally, in our view it is now clearly established that, given such advertising does have a modest influence on childhood food preferences, the case for new restrictions – which will be significant in some areas of broadcasting – has been made.

We believe our approach is proportionate and targeted at the areas of greatest risk. The new restrictions put forward today would have the effect of removing all advertisements for products that are high in fat, salt and sugar from all programmes, broadcast at any time of day or night, which hold particular appeal for children up to the age of 16. We will also work closely with our advertising co-regulators, the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), to implement additional new rules on the content of advertisements.

We understand fully that these prohibitions would have an impact on broadcaster revenues. We will seek to work with the broadcasting industry to mitigate these adverse effects wherever possible, consistent with the objectives of the policy.

There will be some who say these proposals do not go far enough; there will also be others who say they go too far. Many people have strong views on this issue; indeed it is clear from our public consultation that some opinions are polarised to an extent that is irreconcilable.

In the absence of a full consensus we have developed what we believe to be the most appropriate approach, balancing our statutory duties, responding to the evidence – and setting out what we consider to be a wholly necessary intervention.

David Currie - Chairman
Philip Graf - Deputy Chairman
Ed Richards - Chief Executive

Executive Summary

Introduction

1.1 Ofcom is the independent regulator of television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services in the UK. Part of our role is to set standards for television advertising. All television broadcasters must comply with these standards in relation to any advertising they transmit. In late 2004 we transferred the responsibility for the Television Advertising Standards Code to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), including the functions of complaints handling and policy development. However under this co-regulatory scheme Ofcom still retains ultimate responsibility for all television advertising standards as the backstop regulator under the terms of the Communications Act 2003. In particular, Ofcom retains direct responsibility for advertising scheduling policy.

1.2 The relevant objectives to be secured by these standards include the protection of under-18’s, and preventing the inclusion of harmful advertising. Ofcom also has a number of other duties which it must take into account including to further the interests of citizens and consumers, to maintain a sufficient plurality of providers of different television services and to secure the availability of a wide range of television services of high quality and calculated to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests. In performing these duties Ofcom must have regard, amongst other things, to the vulnerability of children. In imposing regulatory measures Ofcom has to act in a proportionate and targeted manner.

Background

1.3 A growing body of research has generated concerns in government and society about rising childhood obesity levels and ill-health due to dietary imbalance, specifically the over-consumption of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods and the under-consumption of fresh foods, fruit and vegetables. Both the Department of Health (DH) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have identified television advertising as an area where action should be considered to restrict the promotion of HFSS foods to children.

1.4 In December 2003, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell MP, asked Ofcom to consider proposals for strengthening the rules on television advertising of food aimed at children.

1.5 In response, in early 2004, Ofcom conducted research into the role that television advertising plays in influencing children’s consumption of foods that are HFSS. In publishing its research report in July 2004, Ofcom concluded that advertising had a modest, direct effect on children’s food choices and a larger but unquantifiable indirect effect on children’s food preferences, consumption and behaviour. Ofcom therefore concluded there was a case for proportionate and targeted action in terms of rules for broadcast advertising to address the issue of childhood health and obesity. However, Ofcom also noted that one of the conclusions from the independent research was that multiple factors account for childhood obesity. Television viewing/advertising is one among many influences on children’s food choices. These other factors include social, environmental and cultural factors, all of which interact in complex ways not yet well understood. In these circumstances Ofcom considered that a total ban on food advertising would be neither proportionate nor, in isolation, effective.

1.6 In November 2004, the Department of Health published a White Paper reiterating the Government’s view that there was ‘a strong case for action to restrict further the advertising and promotion to children of those foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and sugar’ in both the broadcasting and non-broadcasting arenas. At the same time the FSA published a consultation on a scheme which would identify food and drink products high in fat, salt or sugar by means of nutrient profiling (NP). This model was intended to help Ofcom reach decisions on the restriction of television advertising for less healthy foods. In December 2005, the Food Standards Agency completed their work on an NP scheme and delivered it to Ofcom.

Consultation process

1.7 In March 2006, in light of its statutory duties and taking account of the prevailing evidence, Ofcom launched a public consultation on a range of different options for new restrictions on television advertising to children, including three specific packages it had identified:

Package 1 – Timing restrictions preventing the advertising of food and drink products high in fat, salt or sugar during children’s programming
Package 2 – Timing restrictions preventing the advertising of any food and drink products during children’s programming
Package 3 – Volume-based restrictions on all food and drink products

1.8 Other options discussed in the consultation document and consulted on included voluntary self-regulation and a pre-9pm exclusion of HFSS advertising. Ofcom also invited any stakeholder to submit a fourth package of proposals if it commanded broad support across broadcasters, advertisers, retailers and manufacturers.

1.9 The consultation was accompanied by an Impact Assessment which included analysis of the effect of the policy packages and the other options included in the consultation document on the amount of advertising children see, their likely impact on broadcasters and other affected stakeholders and also an assessment of their likely benefits (based on analysis carried out by the FSA). The consultation was scheduled to close on 6 June 2006.

1.10 On 19 May, Ofcom announced that it would be publishing an update to its Impact Assessment intended to make it more straightforward to replicate the analysis undertaken by Ofcom, in particular by using the most up to date information for calendar year 2005. In order to provide consultees with an opportunity to consider the revised data and take it into account in their responses to the consultation, Ofcom announced that it would be extending the consultation period until 30 June 2006. This update to the consultation was published on 8 June 2006.

Summary of Responses Received

1.11 Ofcom received 1097 responses to its consultation. These comprised 114 responses from a range of interested parties including consumer bodies, broadcasters, academics, advertisers, food manufacturers and health and medical bodies and from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People. There were a very large number of responses from private individuals.

1.12 Ofcom also received a proposal from the Food Advertising Unit (FAU) on behalf of the food, soft drinks and advertising industries in response to Ofcom’s invitation to respondents to submit an alternative package.

Deliberative research

1.13 Alongside this formal public consultation, Ofcom also commissioned independent research to gauge the public’s response through a programme of deliberative research. The report on the deliberative research was published on Ofcom’s website on 9 October 2006.

Conclusions

Regulatory objectives

1.14 The Board has concluded that, in the context of its statutory duties, the aims of further regulation in relation to television advertising should be to balance the following regulatory objectives. In the light of the consultation responses and after considering all available evidence, Ofcom is extending the scope of the first objective to include all children under the age of 16. The revised regulatory objectives are to:

reduce significantly the exposure of children under 16 to HFSS advertising, thereby reducing opportunities to persuade children to demand and consume HFSS products;
enhance protection for both older and younger children as well as parents by appropriate revisions to advertising content standards, so as to reduce children’s emotional engagement with HFSS advertisements, and reduce the risk that children and parents may misinterpret product claims, and to reduce the potential for pester power;
avoid disproportionate impacts on the revenue of broadcasters;
avoid intrusive regulation of advertising during adult airtime, given that adults are able to make informed decisions about advertising messages;
ensure that any measures that are put in place are appropriate and sufficiently timely to enable government to observe changes to the nature and balance of food promotion by early 2007.

Regulatory measures

1.15 After a detailed examination of all consultation responses and the available evidence, the Ofcom Board has decided that the following elements should form part of the package of measures to restrict the scheduling of television advertising of food and drink products to children:

Scheduling restrictions should be confined to food and drink products that are assessed as high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) as defined by the Food Standards Agency’s nutrient profiling scheme;
Advertisements for HFSS products should not be shown in or around programmes specifically made for children (which includes pre-school children). For the avoidance of doubt this measure will remove all HFSS advertising from dedicated children’s channels;
Advertisements for HFSS products should not be shown in or around programmes of particular appeal to children.

1.16 Alongside these scheduling restrictions, revised content rules will apply to all food and drink advertising irrespective of when it is scheduled.

1.17 Ofcom also proposes further protection for primary school children by preventing the use of celebrities and licensed characters, promotional offers and nutritional and health claims in advertisements for HFSS products in advertisements targeted at primary school children.

1.18 All of the measures will apply equally to programme sponsorship.

Consultation

1.19 In order best to meet its regulatory objective to protect both younger and older children, the Ofcom Board believes that the restriction relating to programmes of particular appeal to children should be extended to apply to children under 16. This extends a proposal made in our March consultation to prevent HFSS advertising appearing in programmes of particular appeal to children under 9.

1.20 If implemented, this measure will remove HFSS advertising from youth-orientated music programmes and some other general entertainment programmes (particularly those scheduled in the early evening).

1.21 The proposal to prevent programmes of particular appeal to under 16s from carrying HFSS advertising, outlined above, has a greater reach in terms of broadcasters and programmes affected than the packages proposed by Ofcom in its March consultation document. In particular, the proposal will prevent programmes on a number of music channels from carrying advertisements or sponsorship for HFSS products, reducing their total revenues by an estimated £2.4 million per year. The impact across all channels’ total revenue is estimated to be £22.6 million per year.

1.22 Ofcom is therefore consulting on this aspect of its proposed regulatory measures.

1.23 Taken as a whole, this package of restrictions would offer significant protection to children and will have a considerable impact on the amount of HFSS advertising they will see – providing a reduction of 51% for 4-9 year olds and 41% for 4-15 year olds.

1.24 There would be greater reductions in digital television households where children’s programmes, dedicated children’s channels and programmes of particular appeal to under-16s make up a growing share of viewing by the young.

Implementation and timing

1.25 Ofcom will announce the outcome of its further consultation in early January 2007. The statement will confirm the detail of the scheduling restrictions to be applied to advertising and sponsorship of HFSS products and the final wording of the revised BCAP content standards.

1.26 Restrictions will apply to all channels licensed by Ofcom regardless of the location of their target audience.

1.27 Scheduling restrictions will come into effect from the end of March 2007, although dedicated children’s channels will be allowed a graduated phase-in period to the end of December 2008 for full implementation.

1.28 Revised content rules will come into force for new campaigns immediately on Ofcom’s final decision. All existing campaigns will have to comply with the new rules from 1 July 2007.

Structure of this document

1.29 This document explains the rationale for the conclusions outlined above and is structured as follows:

Section 2 briefly outlines the history of the debate around television advertising’s effect on childhood obesity;
Section 3 describes Ofcom’s statutory duties and responsibilities;
Section 4 describes the work undertaken by Ofcom and the consultation process;
Section 5 summarises the responses Ofcom received to the issues raised in its March consultation document and its assessment. This includes a discussion of Ofcom’s regulatory objectives, an assessment of potential regulatory approaches included in the consultation document including Ofcom’s suggested Packages 1, 2 and 3, a pre-9pm ban on HFSS foods and industry’s suggested Option 4. This section also includes discussion on nutrient profiling and the BCAP content rules;
Section 6 sets out the decisions reached by Ofcom on the issues described in Section 5 including decisions not to adopt certain regulatory approaches and the approach that will be taken to implementation including the treatment of channels licensed in the UK but broadcasting to overseas. This section also sets out that Ofcom considers Package 1 to be the preferred regulatory measure from those consulted on;
Section 7 goes on to describe and assess further options developed by Ofcom in light of consultation responses and consumer research. These include Modified Package 1, which enhances Package 1 by extending the use of indexing from 4-9 year olds to 4-15 year olds, and which Ofcom considers may better meet its regulatory objectives;
Section 8 describes Ofcom’s preferred package of measures and outlines the outstanding issue for consultation;
The document also contains a number of annexes which include a full summary of responses received at Annex 5, an Impact Assessment at Annex 7 and proposed wording for revised BCAP content rules at Annex 9.

Television Advertising of Food and Drink Products to Children - Statement and Further Consultation [pdf]
Full print version. See footnote.

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