Last month, McDonald’s introduced its McSpicy
chicken burger in the Philippines. I knew about it on TV, and you know how it
is with McDonald’s advertisements – they can make a burger look so wholesome,
and a sundae look so innocent. And I say that with great admiration.
TV runs many fast-food and snack food advertisements
because it is the fastest way to get anyone’s attention, especially for food,
which requires visuals. Needless to say, a short TV ad will get more impact over
a photo in a magazine or a radio commercial. And many food ads involve children to
convey family togetherness.
True, ads are partly to blame for our bad choices
in food. Studies have said so. A recent one from the scientific journal Obesity Reviews says that junk food
advertisements haven’t gone down despite the food industry’s vow to make changes.
The report analysed children’s exposure to advertisements of food and drinks
with high sugar or fat content. Based on independent surveys done in Europe,
Asia, Australia and North America, the study claims that much remains the same
as it has in the past five years. On the other hand, industry-led surveys
proved the opposite.
Senior author, Dr Tim Lobstein, says, “Five
years after companies announced their voluntary pledges to limit advertising of
junk food to children we find the industry has not done enough. While the
companies report that self-regulation has worked just fine, the evidence
collected by independent researchers and government agencies shows that
children continue to be exposed to junk food advertising at high levels.”
“The discrepancy is presumably due to what
is being measured,” Dr Lobstein says. “The
companies don’t look at everything children watch, only what they themselves
advertise. They don’t consider adverts from companies which haven't signed up
to self-regulatory pledges – i.e. several thousand smaller food and beverage
companies. They don’t look at the family TV programmes watched by children,
only children's TV. And they use their own criteria for judging what is
appropriate to advertise to children.”
In the UK, the regulatory authority, Ofcom,
has banned junk food advertising during children’s TV. Almost effective – except
that since the ads don’t get airtime on children’s TV, they bombard family TV –
which unfortunately children still get to watch. Dr Lobstein recommends Ofcom
to expand the scope of its regulations.
“Self-regulation simply does not work in a
highly competitive marketplace,” adds Dr Lobstein. “Asking the companies to
restrict their own marketing is like asking a burglar to fix the locks on your
front door. They will say you are protected, but you are not.”
The authors recommend that more comprehensive
rules be made to cover digital and broadcast media; independent monitoring be performed,
and penalties be imposed for non-compliance.
Read the full report: The impact of initiatives to limit the
advertising of food and beverage products to children:
a
systematic review, by S.
Galbraith-Emami and T. Lobstein
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