Christmas advertising: how the new Codes apply

The festive season is a key part of many advertiser’s calendars.  With the new Children’s Advertising Code and Food and Beverage Advertising Code in full effect from 1 November, make sure you are up to speed with how these may apply to your business – and help keep your campaigns on the Nice List this year!

Children’s Advertising Code – key considerations for Christmas

When advertising targets children, a high standard of social responsibility is required. Take note that the new Children’s Advertising Code raises the age of a child to under 16 years. The Complaints Board will consider whether an ad targets children based on three criteria:

• Nature and intended purpose – is the product, brand, or message being advertised consumed by, appealing to, or popular with children?
• Ad content – does the presentation of the ad appeal to kids? This could include if it contains interactive apps, games, activities, offers of certain free gifts, use of licensed characters from movies or TV or gaming content, or even the language, imagery, and music included in the ads – yes, that may include images of Santa! If children are featured prominently in the ad, this is also a factor likely to be considered.
• Expected audience – does the expected average audience at the time or place the ad appears include a significant proportion of children? A significant proportion is considered by the ASA to be 25% or more children.

Make it clear it’s an ad: The new Children’s Code includes more guidance for clearly identifying advertising along with any relevant terms and conditions, so it is easily understood by the intended audience.

Don’t promote pester power: Take care when promoting potential gifts – urging children to ask their caregivers to buy a product or encouraging peer pressure by implying lack of acceptance for not owning a product is likely to breach the rules.

Keep it real: Providing an unrealistic sense of body image or promoting unhealthy lifestyles will also fall short of the high standard of responsibility required.

Safety first: The new Code expands the safety rules surrounding advertising. Children must not be encouraged to enter into unsafe situations or talk to strangers, and ads must not encourage children to engage in dangerous activities.

Advertising Food & Beverages: easy-to-digest tips for a compliant Christmas campaign

The new Food and Beverage Code requires a high standard of social responsibility for all food and beverage advertising, to all consumers.

Portion sizes: If you’re including a festive season feast, it’s important to ensure you have appropriate portion sizes for adults and children in your ads. Promoting or encouraging excessive consumption is likely to breach the Codes.

Promote appropriate purchase and consumption: Avoid promoting a sense of urgency for purchase, or encouraging excessive repeat purchases, which may result in irresponsible consumption.

Occasional Food and Beverages: Take extra care when promoting sweet treats and other occasional food and beverages (OFBs) and remember this advertising must not target children. Check out our infographic for more information on responsible OFB advertising.

Keen to learn more?

Check out our handy compliance support tools on the new Codes.

Have a question?  To support responsible advertising, the ASA runs the AdHelp Information Service, a user-pays service for advertisers and agencies for questions regarding advertising compliance.