TV advertising does not increase children’s demands, says new EU survey

Television advertising has little real effect on the buying demands that children make on parents, a survey of adult shoppers in two EU Member States has found.

Christmas shoppers in both Sweden, where television advertising to children is banned, and in Spain, where such advertising has existed for over 40 years, find long queues, lack of staff and changing store layouts by far the worst aspects of shopping. However, 9% of Swedes did name pestering children as a problem which, despite the Swedish advertising ban, was 2% more than in Spain.

Of those who found pestering a bad aspect of shopping, few in either country believed that banning advertising to children would be an effective solution – nearly two thirds felt that instore activity areas for children would make shopping better. Nevertheless, over twice as many Swedish adults as Spanish adults felt that a ban on children’s advertising would ease pestering (19% vs 9%), despite the fact that advertising to children on television – seen to be the most powerful medium – is already banned. Similarly, twice as many Swedes also believed that toys and sweets should not be displayed where children can reach (71% vs 34%), suggesting that advertising bans do little to curb children’s desires.

“All the findings point to the fact that television advertising does not cause children to pester their parents. If it did, why do more adults in a country where TV advertising to children is banned find pestering a problem and why do twice as many want toys and sweets put out of children’s reach?”, commented Lionel Stanbrook, Co-ordinator of the Children’s Programme.

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Notes to editors

The study was conducted by NOP Solutions for the Children’s Programme.
The Children’s Programme is supported by Europe’s advertisers agencies and the commercial media to commission research

For further information

Contact James Aitchison on 0171 828 2771.

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