On 16 April, Canada’s food and beverage industry announced three initiatives relating to advertising and marketing directed to children. Joined by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Tony Clement, Concerned Children’s Advertisers (CCA), Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) and Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) laid a joint approach aimed at helping children and their families make “wise choices related to healthy eating and active living”. The initiatives announced today include:

 

- Two new ‘Long Live Kids’ television Public Service Announcements

- A new version of the Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative

- Enhanced versions of both the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children and the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards which cover all forms of media

 

Developed by Concerned Children’s Advertisers (CCA), ‘Long Live Kids’ is an education and media literacy program dedicated to healthy eating and physical activity. In addition to the two new child-directed PSAs, the programme now also includes a new online workshop for parents and educators, workshops by Canadian educator Linda Millar, and curriculum and community resources for children aged 5 to 13 (grades Kindergarten to 8).

 

Under the new Canadian Children’s Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative, fifteen major Canadian companies will devote a minimum of 50% of their television, radio, print and Internet advertising (which is directed primarily to children under 12 years of age) to further the goal of promoting healthy dietary choices and/or active living. Each company will also publish an individual plan, submitted to third-party self-regulatory body Advertising Standards of Canada (ASC), that sets out how their commitments will be achieved beginning Q1 2008. Companies that have joined the initiative include: Cadbury Schweppes, Campbell, Coca-Cola Ltd., General Mills, Hershey, Janes Family Foods, Kellogg, Kraft, McCain Foods, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Parmalat, PepsiCo, Unilever and Weston Foods.

 

The Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children and the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards have been supplemented by new ‘Interpretation Guidelines’ that cover all media. These guidelines will call on advertisers to promote healthy child development and appropriate food and beverage consumption and will enter into force in September 2007.

 

Emphasis is being placed on transparency as a means of strengthening these measures. “ASC will ensure that the Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative is both accountable and transparent to the Canadian public,” said Linda J. Nagel, ASC President and CEO.

 

Source: Advertising Education Forum

 

The Press Release with further details about the Children’s Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative can be downloaded here from the website of Food and Consumer Products Canada (FCPC). For more information on developments related to advertising codes in the context of food advertising and children, please contact w.gilroy@wfanet.org or visit the Responsible Advertising and Children website for updates on industry initiatives.