It can’t have escaped adland’s attention that concern about the commercialisation and sexualisation of children is high on the political agenda. Nor can it have gone unnoticed that, as part of the coalition government’s commitment to identifying factors relevant to this concern, advertising has inevitably come under scrutiny.

This should not, however, be met with weary resignation from marketers concerned that advertising might, again, be apportioned blame for a perceived societal ill. Rather, marketers can be confident in the fact that the advertising self-regulatory system has many positive things to say about the role it plays in protecting children from inappropriate or harmful marketing material.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have been true to their pre-election promises to examine concerns that children are under increasing pressure to become consumers, and that the world they live in is a more sexualised place. Consequently, the government asked Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of the Mothers’ Union to carry out an independent review and to put forward recommendations to address these concerns. The findings of the Bailey Review are due imminently.

The ASA engaged fully with Reg Bailey throughout the review process and highlighted the self-regulatory system’s ongoing commitment to ensuring advertising to children does not result in moral, physical or mental harm. It is a case we will keep on making.

The protection of children sits at the heart of the work of the ASA and it remains an enduring principle of the Advertising Codes. During the last 18 months, we’ve undertaken various projects to further improve our understanding of parental and young people’s concerns about marketing, while training and advice have been provided for marketers to help them continue to advertise responsibly to children and young persons.

Clearly no advertiser sets out to ‘sexualise children’, but sometimes they can get it wrong. On the very rare occasion that an ad has been judged to feature children in a sexual context, the ASA has taken tough action to send out a clear message that there is no place within UK advertising for material of that nature. A recent ASA ruling against the teen clothing company Jack Wills demonstrated how seriously the watchdog takes these concerns. Nineteen members of the public contacted the ASA to object that a catalogue featuring young men and young women in various states of undress and seductive poses was offensive and unsuitable for publication in a clothing catalogue targeted at and seen by teenagers. The ASA agreed and told the advertiser that its catalogue could not appear again in its current form. Further, the negative publicity that resulted from this ruling prompted for Jack Wills a raft of critical headlines and comment pieces across national media.

The self-regulatory system has demonstrated time and again its priority to ensure children receive an appropriate and proportionate level of protection. Following public consultation, CAP and BCAP recently introduced an overarching social responsibility rule in the Broadcast Advertising Code, which mirrors the long-established rule in the Non-broadcast Advertising Code and provides, for the first time, an extra layer of protection beyond the specific children rules. The system also responded to political and consumer concerns about the regulatory gap online by extending the ASA’s remit to cover companies’ marketing communications on their own websites which enhances consumer protection, including for children.

The ASA has been in listening mode. In January it held a series of workshops and presentations with parents, guardians, teachers and young people at schools in Cardiff in order to hear their views on advertising. It was an invaluable exercise that produced some interesting and sometimes surprising feedback. Crucially, the ASA got to hear first hand young people’s views on advertising, ASA decisions and what concerns they have. The findings from the workshops will be put together in a report and will inform the ASA Council in its decision making.

We are committed to helping industry get its ads right. ASA and CAP recently held an Advice:am training seminar for marketers specifically on the advertising rules surrounding children while CAP Services continues to update guidance and help notes and encourage marketers to take advantage of the Copy Advice service. The ASA is also looking at updating its website and literature so that it is easier for parents and young people to contact us and send us their views or concerns.

CAP and the ASA support the government’s objective to protect children from inappropriate or harmful advertising. Fortunately, advertisements of this nature are rare and quick and effective action is taken to remove any that do appear. While concerns about the commercial world and its impact on children should be taken seriously, advertising plays a small part in a much wider and complex social framework. What the advertising self-regulatory system has clearly been able to demonstrate is that, where children are concerned, it’s safety first.

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