Background
Rule 32.2.1 of The UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (The BCAP Code) states that alcohol ads should not be shown in or around programmes commissioned for, principally targeted at or likely to appeal particularly to audiences below the age of 18 years.
In practice, programmes commissioned for or principally targeted at under-18s are identifiable by their content. Programmes likely to appeal particularly to under-18s are not so easy to identify.
Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) guidance recommends the use of audience indexing, a statistical tool, to determine the representation of children in relation to the audience as a whole. BCAP guidance states that an alcohol restriction should be applied in programmes where the 10- to 15-year-olds audience, indexed against the total audience of all individuals over four years old, produces an index of 120 or more. An index of 120 would mean that 10- to 15-year-olds are 20% over-represented in the programme audience compared to the audience as a whole.
Audience indexing can be used as a tool for forecasting prospective audiences using historical data. An index over 120, when looked at retrospectively, is not necessarily indicative of a breach of the Code. The test is whether the broadcaster used the predictive tools available to schedule advertising with reasonable thoroughness and care.
The ASA Compliance team received research data from Ofcom about television programmes that contained centre-break alcohol advertisements in Q4 2012. This research was based on Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) data for this period and showed ads where the 10- to 15-year-olds audience, indexed against the audience of individuals over four years old, produced an index of 120 or higher.
Ofcom commissioned this research as part of a review into children's exposure to alcohol advertising on television. Ofcom passed this information to the ASA to assess whether the data indicated breaches of Rule 32.2.1 of the BCAP Code. The ASA commissioned further data for February, March and April 2013.
Ad description
The data showed that alcohol ads were broadcast in the following films:
1. 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up; a live-action film about three child ninjas, transmitted on Sony TV on Saturday 20 October 2012;
2. Magic in the Water; a live-action film about a lake monster, transmitted on Sony TV+1 on Sunday 13 October 2012 and Sony TV on Sunday 14 October;
3. Jungle Boy; a live-action film about a boy in the jungle, transmitted on Men & Movies+1 on Tuesday 12 February 2013;
4. Madeline; a live-action film about a mischievous schoolgirl, transmitted on Sony Movies and Sony Movies+1 on Sunday 31 March 2013 and Sony Movies on Tuesday 9 April 2013;
5. Fly Away Home; a live-action film about a father and daughter who teach orphaned geese how to fly, transmitted on Sony Movies and Sony Movies+1 on Tuesday 10 April 2013.
Issue
The ASA Compliance team challenged whether it was appropriate to schedule alcohol ads in these films because they were commissioned for or principally directed at audiences below the age of 18 years.
Response
Entertainment Networks (UK) Limited (Sony Pictures Television) agreed that all five films were commissioned for audiences below the age of 18 years.
They said they had used historical day-part indexing using BARB data to forecast likely audiences in the relevant time-slots, which gave no indication of a likely high child audience index given the targeting and core demographic of the channels. Sony Pictures Television said that Sony TV, Sony Movies and Men & Movies are all targeted at a general audience aged between 25 and 54 years.
They said they had added further processes to ensure that alcohol ads are not broadcast in any programme that might have strong appeal to children.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted that Sony Pictures Television used historical day-part indexing to forecast likely audiences but considered this was not appropriate for deciding whether films were commissioned for under-18s. We considered that all five films were commissioned for or principally directed at children.
The scheduling of alcohol advertisements in films commissioned for or principally directed at audiences below the age of 18 years breached BCAP Code rule 32.2.1 32.2.1 alcoholic drinks containing 1.2% alcohol or more by volume (see rule 32.4.7) (Scheduling of Television and Radio Advertisements, Under-18s).
Action
Alcohol ads must not appear in programmes commissioned for or principally directed at audiences below the age of 18 years. We told Sony Pictures Television to ensure they took more care when scheduling alcohol ads in the future.
