Children and Younger Listeners
11 Children and Younger Listeners
Advertisements likely to be heard by a significant number of children (for the purpose of this Rule, those aged below 16 years, unless otherwise stated) must not include any material which might result in harm to them, whether physically, mentally or morally.
Each station’s audience research information should be used to determine whether significant numbers of children are listening at any particular time.
11.1 Misleadingness
Advertisements addressed to young listeners must not exaggerate or mislead about the size, qualities or capabilities of products.
11.2 Prices
Prices of products advertised to younger listeners must not be minimised by words such as ‘only’ or ‘just’.
11.3 Immaturity and Credulity
Advertisements must not take advantage of the immaturity or natural credulity of children.
11.4 Inferiority
Advertisements must not lead children to believe that unless they have or use the product advertised they will be inferior in some way to other children or liable to be held in contempt or ridicule.
11.5 Direct Exhortation
Advertisements must neither encourage children to pester nor directly urge children to buy products or to ask adults to buy products for them. For example, children must not be directly invited to “ask Mum” or “ask Dad” to buy them an advertiser’s product.
11.6 Appeals to Loyalty
Advertisements must not take advantage of the sense of loyalty of children or suggest that, unless children buy or encourage others to buy a product or service, they will be failing in some duty or lacking in loyalty.
11.7 Distance Selling to Children
Advertisements must not invite children to purchase products by mail or telephone, including fax, email and via the Internet.
11.8 Competitions
a) References to competitions for children are acceptable provided that any skill required is appropriate to the age of likely participants, and the values of the prizes and the chances of winning are not exaggerated;
b) The published rules must be submitted in advance to the Licensee and the principal conditions of the competition must be included in the advertisement (see also Section 2, Rule 23 Competitions, Lotteries, Betting and Gaming).
11.9 Free Gifts
References to ‘free’ gifts for children in advertisements must include all qualifying conditions, e.g. any time limit, how many products need to be bought, how many wrappers need to be collected, etc.
11.10 Health and Hygiene
a) Advertising must not condone inappropriate health standards for children;
b) Advertising must not suggest that confectionery and snack food products may be substituted for balanced meals.
11.11 Child Voiceovers and Presentation
a) Children may take part in radio commercials, subject to all relevant legal requirements. However, they must not feature in advertisements in ways which might cause them moral harm, give concern about their welfare or be regarded as commercial exploitation;
b) Children employed in commercials must not be used to present selling messages and calls to action about products or services which are likely to be beyond their understanding or which the law prevents them from buying themselves.
The exception to this Rule may be where a child acts out a role, although particular care should be taken in these circumstances to ensure that the child actor is not exploited or morally harmed in any way (see also Section 2, Rule 9 Good Taste, Decency and Offence to Public Feeling).
11.12 Testimonials
Children must not personally testify about products and services. They may, however, give spontaneous comments on matters in which they would have an obvious natural interest.
11.13 Food and Soft Drink Advertisements and Children
On 1 July 2007, a new and important regulation governing nutrition and health claims for foods came into force. The regulation is complex and mandatory. BCAP encourages broadcasters to take advice on the effect of the regulation and to consult the Food Standards Agency’s Guidance to Compliance with Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health Claims on Foods, which is available at http://www.food.gov.uk
a) Promotional offers to children should be used with a due sense of responsibility. They may not be used in food or soft drink product advertisements targeted directly at pre-school or primary school children; that prohibition does not apply to advertisements for fresh fruit or fresh vegetables. Advertisements that contain promotional offers linked to food and drink products of interest to children must neither seem to encourage children to eat or drink a product only to take advantage of a promotional offer nor create a sense of urgency. If promotional offers can also be bought, that should be made clear. Closing dates for collection-based promotions should enable the whole set to be collected without having to buy excessive or irresponsible quantities of the product in a short time.
b) Licensed characters and celebrities popular with children must be used with a due sense of responsibility. They may not be used in food or soft drink product advertisements targeted directly at pre-school or primary school children; that prohibition does not apply to advertisements for fresh fruit or fresh vegetables.
This prohibition does not apply to advertiser-created equity brand characters (puppets, persons or characters), which may be used by advertisers to sell the products they were designed to sell.
Persons such as professional actors or announcers who are not identified with characters in programmes appealing to children may be used as presenters.
Licensed characters, equity brand characters or celebrities well-known to children may present factual and relevant generic statements about nutrition, safety, education and the like.
Licensed Characters are those characters that are borrowed equities and have no historical association with the product.
Equity Brand Characters are those characters that have been created by the advertiser and have no separate identity outside their associated product or brand.