Food Advertising Unit

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August 2004

Advertising to kids, and particularly food advertising to kids, is a subject of much controversy in the UK. Some believe that advertising manipulates their children into wanting things they don't need, whilst other believe that advertising helps them to choose things their children will like.

What do parents and adults actually think about advertising to kids?

Below are some figures taken from independent research of adults on their attitudes on food advertising.

According to a Food Standards Agency report on the Promotion of Food to Children (2001) there is actually little public concern over food advertising. It states: "Children understood that television commercials were designed to make them want products and this understanding was clearly apparent, even amongst the 7-9s, the youngest children in the group discussions. Understanding the intentions of the advertisers did not intrude on the effectiveness of commercials and children spoke about their power in generating desire for products… Parents see no need for [additional] rules regarding promotions".

In a pan-European study "Parental Perceptions of Key Influences in Children's Lives" (2000) commissioned by the Advertising Education Forum, 86% of parents did not spontaneously mention TV advertising as one of the 5 major influences on their food choice. This varied between 5% in the UK and 41% in Denmark spontaneously mentioning advertising. In Sweden, where TV advertising to children in banned, 11% of parents felt it to be a major influence.

Across several studies of parental attitudes, there is general agreement that advertising is not one of the major influences on their children and that broadly parents, sibling, friends and school are more powerful.

According to an online survey of over 500 parents in January 2003 "only 12% of mums and dads think advertising to children should be banned and 30% think ads are a valuable way of teaching children about marketing". The survey also found that "the majority of parents see advertising as a useful tool for teaching children the difference between desirable and necessary".

A more recent survey carried out by Raisingkids.co.uk in August 2003 of over 1500 parents, found that parents feel they are the gatekeepers of what to buy for their children. Only 14% of parents replied that they would let their children try a product they have asked for, and 81% said that they would make their decision according to product qualities.

Other independent research carried out by Key note market research in 2003 found that around 20% of adults surveyed agreed that all ads are bad for children, and almost as many people (18%) think "that advertising is good for children as it teaches them to operate in a consumer society". Key note also states that "there is some evidence from the research that today's purchasers for children are more relaxed about advertising to children than those who took part in a similar survey 2 years ago".

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