Child’s play: Why advertising regulation takes a grown-up approach to protecting children

24 June 2010

A cornerstone of the UK advertising regulatory system is the emphasis it places on protecting children. This has always been the case but perhaps now, more so than ever, the system has to demonstrate its commitment to, and effectiveness in upholding this aim.

With concerns across society – from Government to health professionals, community groups to members of the public – about the wellbeing of children in a multi and new-media world, advertising and the impact it may have on young people has come under increasing scrutiny. Critics continue to call for further restrictions or outright bans on the advertising of various products or sectors. While the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the ASA continue to take concerns seriously we can rightly point to the considerable amount of work that has been and continues to be done in ensuring the protection of children sits at the heart of what we do.

In the run up to the General Election politicians called for a clamp down on “irresponsible” marketing”, “excessive commercialisation” and “sexualisation” of children that they believe advertising is, in part, responsible for. These are serious themes and issues. The ASA has, however, been able to highlight that the Codes already ensure that ads do not contain anything that is likely to result in children’s physical, mental or moral harm. It can also demonstrate how it takes independent and robust action to remove or change ads that breach those rules, including content that inappropriately features children in a sexual context, depicts unacceptable levels of violence in ads that can be seen by children or encourages ‘pester power’.

But the concerns have not been dismissed or taken lightly, and certainly there will be an ongoing case to make for the effectiveness of the rules and the regulatory system. The noises being made pre-election were not just political posturing. The new coalition Government may only just be settling in but it has already announced the creation of a Childhood and Families Task Force, chaired by the Prime Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg has outlined that part of its work will “focus on cracking down on the irresponsible advertising currently aimed at children”.  We will be engaging with Government to outline the strength of the Codes and to offer our expert advice and experience in this area.

The ASA and CAP recently published their 2009 Annual Report which illustrates the work that has been undertaken to protect children. Tough ASA rulings have set a benchmark for various advertisers and sectors on where the line is drawn in terms of inappropriate ad content. Meanwhile, pro-active monitoring surveys were conducted to assess compliance with the rules. Industry, through CAP, has also demonstrated its ongoing commitment to protecting children from inappropriate or harmful advertising with various initiatives including a full-public consultation on the Codes – adopting new rules to increase the protection of children – publishing practical guidance for the video games and film industries on how to create responsible ads and running a range of industry training sessions on the children’s rules, to prevent ads from falling foul of the Codes.

A clear signal of industries’ ongoing commitment to protecting children came earlier this year when it recommended to extend the ASA’s remit in digital media to cover marketing communications on companies’ own websites. This is a highly significant development for self-regulation and indeed for consumers.

The advertising regulatory system in the UK is designed to protect consumers while allowing responsible advertising to flourish. CAP and the ASA share concerns about inappropriate marketing to children, which is why the Codes are so robust in this area. But it is not, and never should be, knee jerk regulation. Protecting children is paramount but we must ensure that the rules are evidence based and are administered firmly but proportionately. While the advertising rules surrounding children should be handled with kid gloves it is imperative that industry continues to take a sensible, transparent and grown-up approach to achieving this.

Written by Sally Ramsden.