About Which? No advertising, no bias, no hidden agenda

TV ad rules continue to fail children

12 November 2007

Which? has renewed its calls for a 9pm watershed for junk food ads as new research* reveals that twelve of the 20 programmes most watched by children under 10 years old are not covered by current rules**.

The findings come just weeks after the Prime Minister acknowledged the need to curb the promotion of ‘inappropriate foods’*** as part of the nation’s efforts to tackle obesity.

Current rules are based on the proportion of children watching a programme rather than the actual number.

This means that adverts promoting unhealthy foods are not allowed during programmes such as The Simpsons, which has a child audience of 163,200, but are allowed during programmes such as The X Factor, which has nearly three times the child audience at 442,300.

Which? analysis of adverts during the programmes with the most child viewers revealed that products such as Mars Planets, Kinder Bueno, Milky Way, Smarties and Twix are being advertised at these times.

In January 2008 the current rules will be extended to programmes with a high proportion of viewers under the age of 16. If those rules applied today, just two of the top 20 programmes would be covered.

Which? food campaigner Miranda Watson says:

“This research shows that unhealthy foods are being advertised during the programmes with the highest number of child viewers, such as The X-Factor. The only way to shield children from TV ads for unhealthy foods is a 9pm watershed.

“There is no silver bullet in the fight against obesity but tougher restrictions on the way unhealthy foods are marketed to children will play an important role in helping parents to instil healthy eating habits in their children."

 

Notes to Editor

 

*Which? looked at the TV viewing figures for ITV 1, Channel 4 and 5 from 1-14 September 2007 to reveal which programmes children under 10 and children under 16 were watching in the largest numbers. Researchers from the British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University then analysed the foods advertised during these programmes using the Food Standards Agency’s Nutrient Profiling Model. Foods that are ‘less healthy’ as defined by the Nutrient Profiling Model cannot be advertised during programmes ‘of appeal’ to children.

**Current TV broadcast restrictions developed by Ofcom:

  • Since 1 April 2007, advertisements for foods high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) have not been permitted in or around programmes made for children (including pre-school children), or in or around programmes that are likely to be of particular appeal to children aged 4-9.
  • From 1 January 2008, HFSS advertisements will not be permitted in or around programmes made for children (including pre-school children), or in or around programmes that are likely to be of particular appeal to children aged 4-15.

***Prime Minister’s Questions, Wednesday 17 October 2007.

Examples of advertisements shown during the programmes with the highest number of viewers under 10. (1-14 September 2007) Programmes in bold are covered by current restrictions.

 

Examples of advertisements shown during the programmes with the highest number of viewers under 10
Programme and ranking Children viewing Viewing Indexa Examples of foods high in fat, sugar or salt advertised
1. Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 442,300 88.8 Mars, Milky Way, McDonald’s Apple Pie and Toffee Sunday, Nestlé Honey Nut Cheerios and Twix
2. The X-Factor 412,800 87.04 Kinder Bueno, Milky Way, Twix, Mars and Maltesers
3. New You’ve Been Framed 366,500 80.67 Milky Way, Cheestrings, Nesquik Magic Straws, Kellogg’s Frosties and Kellogg’s Coco Pops Creations
4. Coronation Street 270,300 39.64 Milky Way, Twix, Mars, Maltesers and Nestlé Heaven Perles Praline
5. Emmerdale 177,600 35.64 Mars Planets, Milky Way, Twix, Galaxy Minstrels and Mars
6. The Simpsonsb
 		 163,200 140.81 Covered by current restrictions
7. The Bill 155,500 36.62 Kinder Bueno, Milky Way, Smarties, Twix and Galaxy Minstrels
8. Film: The Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring 142,700 66.33 Cadbury Dairy Milk, Kellogg's Cereal and Milk Bars: Coco Pops, Rice Krispies and Frosties, Pringles Rice Infusions and Nesquik Magic Straws
9. Spongebob Squarepantsb 130,100 465.53 Covered by current restrictions
10. Animals Do The Funniest Things 126,500 70.47 Maltesers, Pringles Rice Infusions, Cheestrings, Nesquik Magic Straws and Philadelphia Light Splendips Thai Sweet Chilli
11. Ben 10b
 		 120,600 602.53 Covered by current restrictions
12. Britain’s Favourite View 114,500 40.37 Werthers Original, Twix, Galaxy Minstrels, Maltesers, Toblerone Fruit and Nut and Pringles Rice Infusions
13. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 113,000 32.69 Kinder Bueno, Milky Way, Smarties, Twix and Galaxy Minstrels
14. Bratzb
 		 113,000 423.09 Covered by current restrictions
15. American Dragonb 109,400 404.18 Covered by current restrictions
16. Film: Edward Scissorhands a 106,600 124.72 Covered by current restrictions
17. Power Rangers Mystic Forceb 96,700 428.03 Covered by current restrictions
18. Toonattikb
 		 94,300 467.38 Covered by current restrictions
19. Supernanny 94,100 46.86 Cadbury Dairy Milk and Nesquik Magic Straws
20. Marc Bolan: 20th Century Boy 93,100 55.58 Kellogg’s Coco Pops Cereal and Milk Bar, Nestlé Heaven Milk Truffle and Pralene Perles

Table notes

  1. Only covered by controls if 120 or more
  2. Programmes covered by current restrictions

Research Notes