Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children!

If only Jamie Oliver had realised just what he'd started. Today nanny has decided that we can no longer be trusted to watch chocolate and burgers on TV.





TV regulator Ofcom has decided that foods that are "high in fat, salt and sugar" will be banned from children's TV and programmes that attract "a high proportion of under-16's". The idea is to reduce childhood obesity by preventing advertisers from raising the profile of unhealthy food.

But the simple fact is, the new legislation won't make the blindest difference to childhood obesity.

Lets use the example of McDonald's, an organisation often mentioned when the issue of unhealthy eating comes up.
Five years ago, this legislation would have meant a firm like McDonald's would be banished from our screens with their Big Mac & chips offerings.
But today, it's slightly different. You see Ronald McDonald now offers such delights as 'Fruit bags', carrot sticks and fresh salads. When you consider that, it's easy to see how a firm like McDonald's is going to side-step this legislation.
Instead of showing of their Big Mac, they'll just show off how healthy they now are. They'll still get people in the Restaurant and from there on in, the customer is free to chose what he/she wants.

Lets look at chocolate as well. I would hazard a guess that few chocolate bars are sold as a direct result of TV advertising. Most advertisers realise that television is not the most effective form of advertising, in fact I'm sure I read that the 'sales rate' is less than two percent, but companies do it because it makes their brand name seem more prestigious if they are attached to a popular soap opera.
The majority of chocolate sales, above what would be expected as the norm, come from impulse buys whilst stood in the queue at the supermarket check-out or the petrol station counter.
So now, Ofcom are effectively encouraging the likes of Cadbury's to spend their multi-million pound budget in supermarkets, petrol stations and corner shops. In short, it's probably making the problem worse.

As for the TV industry, broadcasters such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney will see their advertising revenues plummet. Some advertisers will focus their budgets elsewhere whilst others will refuse to pay full price if they can't advertise the products they want. That will invariably lead to poorer programme quality, shorter broadcasting hours and lost jobs.

All the new legislation will do is encourage advertisers to be a little bit more creative. They'll change the way they advertise or the places they advertise and as a result, the only gain will be on the 13 year-old's waistline.