Day 299 - 13 Nov 96 - Page 17


     
     1        Sue Dibb from the National Food Alliance, who was employed
     2        to research the effects of food advertising on children,
     3        related about the National Food Alliance having called for
     4        a ban on advertising of sugary and fatty foods at times
     5        when large numbers of children were likely to be watching
     6        television.
     7
     8        She gave examples of how that had happened in other
     9        countries, and it might be that you think what does it
    10        matter what happens in other countries, but it is clear
    11        that if it is going on in other countries, that there are
    12        these bans, that there certainly is a wide section of the
    13        population who do view this type of advertisement as being
    14        something undesirable, and so obviously we should be
    15        entitled to express that view as well.
    16
    17        In her view, the cumulative effect of much food advertising
    18        resulted in harm to children in the sense that it
    19        encouraged inappropriate nutritional practices which would
    20        have implications for children's health and for their
    21        health in later life.  And her point of view was that in
    22        the debate over the future of food advertising, public
    23        health should be given priority over the wishes of
    24        advertisers.  Obviously, our position would be that
    25        people's health is far more important than the wish of
    26        companies like McDonald's to use advertising to increase
    27        their profits.
    28
    29        I don't know whether you want me to stop for the break.
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, we will take our five minute break.
    32
    33                         (Short Adjournment)
    34
    35   MS. STEEL:   Just carrying on with Sue Dibb, she referred to the
    36        fact that children had been described by one marketing
    37        company as an advertiser's dream and she had actually
    38        written a book using that as the title for the book,
    39        "Advertiser's Dream, Nutritionist's Nightmare".
    40
    41        She said that children were effectively encouraged to wield
    42        pester power over their parents, and that in a recent
    43        survey nearly half of the parents of children aged over
    44        five said that they often gave in to buying foods which
    45        they would not otherwise buy, as a result of that pester
    46        power.  And that almost two-thirds of those questioned felt
    47        that there should be tougher restrictions on advertising of
    48        food and soft drinks to children.
    49
    50        She also referred to the seminar which she had attended
    51        which was organised by and for people in the advertising
    52        industry and that seminar was entitled "Pester Power, How
    53        to Reach Kids in 1994", and that seminar discussed the most
    54        effective techniques for advertising to children and all
    55        the techniques which were referred to were used by
    56        McDonald's in their advertisements; for example, seeking to
    57        draw children into the McDonald's world, the use of
    58        characters such as ronald mcdonald which she said was a
    59        major trend in children's food and drink marketing and
    60        could be said to play on children's affection and loyalty

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