BROADCASTING / REGULATIONS: Banned after the break: Commercials for junk food and booze have reached a watershed

Banned after the break: Commercials for junk food and booze have reached a
watershed

By Abigail Townsend - Published: 05 February 2006

It used to be simple. Companies came up with a product and advertised it.
Consumers, liking the look of it, bought it and, well, consumed it. That,
however, was then. These days, how companies market goods, and to whom is
highly contentious - especially if they're selling alcohol and junk food. In
the US, after the lengthy legal battle waged against the tobacco industry,
consumers have started suing companies for making them fat. The most recent
case involves the food manufacturer Kellogg's and media sales company
Viacom, who are being sued for advertising sugary cereals on children's
television in a $2bn (£1.1bn) class action suit.

Meanwhile, in Britain, the communications regulator, Ofcom, recently
tightened the rules on advertising alcohol at the Government's behest. The
first company to fall foul of the more stringent regulations was Young's:
the Advertising Standards Authority ordered the brewer to pull two adverts
last month because they linked its beer to social and sexual success.

The Government has also ordered the food industry to raise its game.
Labelling on products is being improved and more stringent controls
introduced on advertising to children. Ofcom will launch a consultation
paper in the spring, while the Food and Drink Federation, a trade body, is
also looking at the issue. And well it might - the Government has made it
clear that should the industry fail to self-regulate, it will step in next
year and legislate changes.

Even the European Union is getting in on the act, with a Green Paper
published last December questioning whether, when it comes to marketing
sugary snacks, self-regulation is adequate.
So why the surge of interest? .............

FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article343202.ece

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