FEATURE OVEREXPOSED TO UNHEALTHY ADS
the 9pm watershed. As can be seen in the figure on the previous page, in 2015 70% of the television advertising that children saw for foods and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar and for restaurants and bars was shown before the 9pm watershed and therefore could have been affected had restrictions applied before the watershed. The effectiveness of advertising restrictions
ultimately depends on how food and drink companies respond to these restrictions, how consumers respond to a reduction in the amount of advertising they see, and how the regulations are enforced. Food and drink companies might respond
in a number of ways. For example, restrictions on advertising might encourage companies to reformulate their products so that they are no longer high in fat, sugar and salt, and can therefore still be advertised. Alternatively, food and drink companies might respond by shifting the advertising they would have placed in pre-watershed slots to after the 9pm watershed, or to other mediums such as internet advertising, which may mean the fall in total advertising exposure of children is less than anticipated. Manufacturers and retailers may also change the prices of their products, which will affect the overall impact of the policy. The response of consumers to seeing less advertising of unhealthy food and drink is also an important factor in determining the effect of extending restrictions. For example, if advertising leads consumers to switch between brands of a similar nutritional composition (eg, buying a KitKat rather than a Crunchie), restricting advertising would have a limited effect on diet quality. In contrast, if exposure to advertising leads people to buy a KitKat when they otherwise would have bought an apple (or nothing at all) then reducing
12 SOCIETY NOW AUTUMN 2018
Shows such as Britain’s Got Talent and X Factor attract a large number of young viewers, with the share of audience made up by children being 13% for Britain’s Got Talent and 12% for X Factor.
advertising exposure is more likely to improve diet quality. Estimating the relative importance of these two effects is difficult, but is an important topic for future research. The fact that an advert for one product may
affect demand for similar products is one reason why the design of regulations to prohibit the advertising of unhealthy foods can be complex. Currently, the regulation states that an advert should not be permitted during children’s television if it ‘has the effect of promoting an HFSS product’. A recent ruling by the Advertising Standards Agency determined that Coco Pops Granola (a non-HFSS product) could not be advertised during children’s television because it had the effect of simultaneously promoting the original Coco Pops Cereal (a HFSS product). On the other hand, McDonald’s is permitted to run adverts during children’s television, as long as they advertise non-HFSS products (eg, carrots). This highlights the challenge of designing regulations aimed at restricting exposure to unhealthy food and drink adverts.
Children see a lot of television advertising of
unhealthy foods and drinks during television that is not covered by current regulations. Extending regulations is just one of many possible policy responses to the growing problem of childhood obesity. The extent to which it will be successful depends crucially on how people change what they buy and eat. Ultimately, it is likely that a broad package of measures will be necessary to deal with escalating costs of a less healthy population. n
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Rebekah Stroud is a Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
www.ifs.org.uk/people/profile/4156 Web
www.ifs.org.uk/people/profile/4156
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