Advertising Standards Authority bans ads for KFC and Kellogg’s Coco Pops
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints by the Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) against adverts for KFC and Kellogg's after they targeted children with their marketing campaigns.
An advert for KFC Mars Krushems drink, which appeared on a telephone box a short distance from a primary school, was banned, along with an advert for Kellogg’s Coco Pops Granola, which appeared between episodes of a children's television show.
The Coco Pops Granola was not itself considered a high fat salt or sugar food (HFSS) but the ASA said: “Taken as a whole, we considered that the Coco Pops branding was significantly more prominent than the references to the granola product, and that therefore the focus of the ad was on the Coco Pops branding rather than specifically on the granola product".
Under advertising rules, HFSS product adverts must not be directed at children through the selection of the media or context in which they appear, and no medium should be used to promote HFSS products if more than 25% of its audience is under the age of 16.
Kawther Hashem, Nutritionist at Action on Sugar, says: “This is a classic example of how certain brands continue to try and put profits before the health of our children. It is vital that only products not categorised high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) can be marketed and promoted, including in-store price promotions and sweets at the checkouts. Cigarette advertising has been banned in the UK for many years because it causes cancer and cardiovascular disease, yet HFSS foods and drinks, which are now a bigger cause of death and disability, can be advertised without strong restrictions to vulnerable children. A similar longer term strategy needs to be implemented."
Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance, says: “This is just another example of the ever-evolving tricks brands use to get their products in front of children, and why we need stronger regulatory protection online and a 9pm watershed on junk food adverts on TV.”
Barbara Crowther, coordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, says: “Clear guidance about what constitutes a HFSS advert and a stronger legislative framework to restrict junk food marketing are needed if we are to adequately protect children from obesity.”
For online media coverage of the ruling click here
