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Food Firms Use Net To Reach Kids

  • BBC, Monday, December 19, 2011 9:44 AM

The British Heart Foundation cited websites by Cadbury's and Nestle as examples of "cynical marketing." Sites used childish language, games and gifts to appeal to children, according to the report. But an Advertising Association spokesman insisted online promotion to children was strictly controlled.

The vast majority of UK children now use the Internet at home, often choosing the web over TV. The Advertising Standards Authority's broadcasting code prohibits ads for unhealthy food within children's television programs, or any program that appeals to kids under 16.  But it doesn't extend to web content aimed at children, although a separate regulation forbids any ad that might encourage "poor nutritional habits" or an "unhealthy lifestyle" in children.

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