The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Food and Soft Drink Survey 2009 reveals a high compliance rate of 99.4% with the Advertising Codes.

This is the ASA’s third survey of the food and drink sector since 2007, when new, stricter food and soft drink advertising rules were introduced in response to public concern about childhood obesity and the need to protect children’s health.

In a comprehensive monitoring exercise, the ASA assessed 1,110 ads across all media and only seven were considered to be in breach of the Advertising Codes. Significantly, none of the ads breached the new children’s food advertising rules, and there were no breaches in online media.

The children’s food and soft drink advertising rules state that ads should not:

• condone or encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children
• actively encourage them to eat or drink at or near bedtime, to eat frequently throughout the day or to replace main meals with confectionery or snack foods
• disparage good dietary practice
• promote consumption of a food purely to get a promotional offer
• encourage excessive consumption

Encouragingly, the result of the 2009 survey maintains the high compliance rates recorded in both the 2007 and 2008 surveys. The survey is part of the ASA’s ongoing commitment to protect consumers and maintain a level playing field for advertisers.

The ASA also supports the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) in its on-going provision of advice and training to promote better understanding of the rules and encourage best practice.

Chief Executive of the ASA, Guy Parker, said, “The ASA will not hesitate to take firm action against advertisers who breach the rules but, as this survey reveals, overall the food and soft drink sector continues to advertise responsibly. The compliance rate underlines the strength and effectiveness of our work and the industry’s commitment to maintaining high standards in advertising.”

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