The UK government is facing fierce opposition from medical and campaign groups over its plans to allow product placement in television programmes.
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The British Medical Association (BMA), which supports a total ban on all marketing of high fat, salt and sugar foods, wrote to the Department of Culture, Media & Sport raising its concerns over the move, which it claims could increase obesity among children.
“The BMA is deeply concerned about the decision to allow any form of product placement in relation to alcohol, gambling and foods high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) as this will reduce the protection of young people from harmful marketing influences and adversely impact on public health,” the body’s submission said.
“Product placement [blurs] the distinction between advertising and editorial and is not always recognisable. Studies show children are particularly susceptible to embedded brand messages and these operate at a subconscious level,” it added.
Rules laid down by Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, currently forbid product placement. Last March the government ruled out rescinding the ban, but then in a u-turn Ben Bradshaw, the culture secretary, announced plans to relax the rules in order to help commercial broadcasters weather the downturn in advertising, despite opposition from his predecessor Andy Burnham, now the health secretary.
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By GlobalDataIt is understood that lifting the ban on product placement could lead to UK broadcasters making annual revenues in the region of GBP25m (US$40.4m) to GBP35m per year after five years, according to Ofcom.
The closing date for responses to the consultation is 8 January.
Christine Haigh from the National Children’s Campaign said it will “certainly” be getting its response to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport by Friday.
“We’re really concerned with the proposals to allow product placement. We think this will almost certainly expose children to more junk food advertising,” she told just-food. “The supposed safeguard that is being proposed that it won’t be allowed in children’s programmes is really inadequate because we know from figures from Ofcom that 75% of children’s viewing is outside of children’s programmes, so if product placement goes ahead then they’re certainly going to see it in the majority of their TV viewing.
She added: “We’ve also looked at figures from the US and it’s companies like Coca-Cola that use it the most so we think there is real grounds for our concerns.
“It was only in March last year that the previous culture secretary Andrew Burnham came out saying we’ve thought about this, we’re not going to allow product placement to go ahead and it’s unclear what really has changed in the last six months between that announcement and this one,” Haigh added.
