The World Health Organization recognizes advertising of junk food to children, as a contributing factor for obesity, and also

as a priority to address in its strategy to combat chronic diseases.

Source: WHO, Diet, Nutrition and Prevention of Chronic Diseases, WHO Technical report series 916, section 5.2.4 Strength of evidence, Table 7, (2003) 63.WHO, Prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: implementation of the global strategy, Report by secretariat. (nov. 2009).

ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN: a public health

issue The Office de la protection du consommateur Government agency in charge of ensuring compliance to the Consumer Protection Act.

Ob

esit

y R

ates

in %

Obesity rates steadily increase with the number of hours spent in front of the television (which indicates a cause and e� ect relationship).

Hours per day spent watching television

Source: Crespo, CJ. et al., “Television watching, energy intake, and obesity in US children: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994.” Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medecine. Vol. 155, no 3.

Source: Linda S. Pagani et al., Prospective associations between early childhood television exposure and academic, psychosocial, and physical well-being by middle childhood, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 2010; Vol. 164 No.5.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity. Overweight and Obesity: Health Consequences.

Obese + overweight children 2 to 17 years old

Source: Shields, M. (2006). Overweight and obesity among children and youth. Health reports, 17 (3), 27-42.

1978 200426%15%

Guilty Pleas Recorded in QuebecIn 2007, the Weight Coalition brought several complaints to the Office de la protection du consommateur leading to lawsuits.

Saputo | Guilty plea: January 26, 2009 | Fine = $44,000 Promotional items distributed in Quebec day-care centres to promote Igor muffins.

P2P Promotion Publicité | Guilty Plea: April 29, 2009 | Fine = $16,000 Organization of the advertising campaign for Saputo’s Igor muffins.

General Mills | Guilty Plea: February 25, 2009 | Fine = $2,000 Website for sugar-laden Lucky Charms’ cereal.

Burger King | Guilty Plea: May 8, 2009 | Fine = $12,000 Promotion of gift figurines offered with the purchase of a kids meal.

McDonald’s | Guilty Plea: July 20, 2009 | Fine = $12,000 Self promotion spots during the Ciné-cadeau television program.

Limits of the CPAIn terms of its application:• Lack of resources to enforce effectively• No monitoring of advertising practices

In terms of its wording:• Absence of a definition for the term “advertising” • Numerous exemptions in the implementation guide

EXPOSURE TO ADVERTISING

4CHILDREN ARE EXPOSED TO OVER

ADS PER YEAR More than 78% of the food industry’s TV commercials feature non dietetic foods.

Source: J.P Laperrière, G. Martel, À quels messages publicitaires les enfants de moins de 12 ans sont-ils exposés lorsqu’ils regardent la télévision au Québec?, Université du Québec à Montréal, (2010).

* Sponsorship* Product placement * Promotion* Use of celebrities,

mascots or characters * Websites

* Packaging* Sales displays * Email or text messages * Philanthropy* Viral marketing

Other forms of marketing aiming to create a relationship between children and a brand:

Source: WHO, Prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: implementation of the global strategy, (nov. 2009).

,

NATIONAL AVERAGE OF HOURS PER WEEK SPENT IN FRONT OF THE TV Source: Television viewing: data tables – Statistics Canada (2006)

Chronic diseasesassociated with obesity

• cardiovascular diseases • hypertension• diabetes• colon, endometrium and breast cancers • sleep apnea • respiratory disorders • complications related to reproduction

• Consumption attitude (children’s spending, influence on parents’ purchases)• “Nagging” phenomenon (children’s demands to parents, financial stress)• Undermining authority (children portrayed as independent consumers who know everything)• Brand preference• Unhealthy eating habits

Production of this poster has been made possible through a financial contribution from Health Canada, through the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer; from the Public Health Agency of Canada; and from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The views expressed herein represent the views of the Collaborative Action on Childhood Obesity and do not necessarily represent the views of the project funders.

Source: Option consommateurs, Advertising that targets children: Ensuring the best protection possible, Report presented to Canada’s Oª ce of Consumer A« airs, April 2008.

Source: Cornwell B., McAlister A., Children’s Brand Symbolism Understanding: Links to Theory of Mind and Executive Functioning, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 27(3): 203–228 (March 2010).

For every $1 the WHO spends on trying to improve the nutrition of the world’s population, $500 is spent by the food industry in promoting processed food!Source: International Association of Consumer Food Organizations (IACFO).®Broadcasting Bad Health: Why Food Marketing to Children Needs to be Controlled. Washington. Juillet 2003.

$1�=

�$500

Young children (3-5 year olds) prefer fries shown in a McDonald’s package to

the same fries in regular packaging.

Source: Thomas N. Robinson et al., E« ects of Fast Food Branding on Young Children’s

Taste Preferences, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2007;161(8):792-797.

Explosion of the industry’s spending for advertising directed at children

1 990 = $100 Million

2000 = $2 BillionSource: http://www.media-awareness.ca/francais/parents/marketing/cible_enfants.cfm

• 93% recognize the McDonald’s brand • describe fast-food as “fun, exciting and tasty”• associate from a very early age the product, the brand and its logo and the potential usefulness

in their everyday lives. Therefore, a brand’s popularity and the peer pressure it generates have an undeniable impact on the directions and demands of young children.

The Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative:

18 leaders in the food and beverage industry are committed to not advertise mainly to children under 12, and instead focus their advertising on products that are compliant with the principles of a healthy diet.

And yet…

General Mills and McDonald’s take part in this initiative and were convicted in 2009 of advertising to children in Quebec!

What the Rest of the World is Doing…

monitor TV advertising directed at children. only are prohibiting it, including Quebec.

including France and the U.S. have self-regulation guidelines for advertising directed at children.

Source: Dr. Corinna Hawkes, Marketing to children – The global regulatory environment, report prepared for the WHO, (2004).

Each year, 4 million Canadian children

aged 2-12 spend a total of

$1.5 billion of their own

and have an influence on the purchase of household

items to the amount of $15 billion.

Source: Institut Vanier (2002) quoted in Régie du cinéma’s “Mon enfant devant l’écran” (2009), p. 60.

…As for CanadaVoluntary regulations are implemented by the advertising industry:• Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) is

the advertising industry’s national independent self-regulation organization.

• The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (administered by ASC) governs all types of advertising.

• Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children completes the Canadian Code.

of Canadians recognize that the environment in which we live has an infl uence on our daily food choices.

recognize that food marketing directed at children contributes to the overweight and obesity issues among young Canadians.

82% think that marketing of unhealthy food to children ®should be restricted.

declare that advertising targeted at kids should be banned in Canada.

Social consensus on the necessity of regulating

Source: Weight Coalition (results of an Ipsos Descarie survey for the Weight Coalition, 2010).

89%79%82%64%

62 COUNTRIES3 COUNTRIES

51 COUNTRIES

PAP_Affiche Pub Destinee aux Enfants-A.indd 1 10-06-08 4:36 PM