General
CAP 5.1
Marketing communications addressed to, targeted directly at or featuring children must contain nothing that is likely to result in their physical, mental or moral harm:
CAP 5.1.1
children must not be encouraged to enter strange places or talk to strangers
CAP 5.1.2
children must not be shown in hazardous situations or behaving dangerously except to promote safety. Children must not be shown unattended in street scenes unless they are old enough to take responsibility for their own safety.
Pedestrians and cyclists must be seen to observe the Highway Code
CAP 5.1.3
children must not be shown using or in close proximity to dangerous substances or equipment without direct adult supervision
CAP 5.1.4
children must not be encouraged to copy practices that might be unsafe for a child
CAP 5.1.5
distance selling marketers must take care when using youth media not to promote products that are unsuitable for children.
CAP 5.2
Marketing communications addressed to, targeted directly at or featuring children must not exploit their credulity, loyalty, vulnerability or lack of experience:
CAP 5.2.1
children must not be made to feel inferior or unpopular for not buying the advertised product
CAP 5.2.2
children must not be made to feel that they are lacking in courage, duty or loyalty if they do not buy or do not encourage others to buy a product
CAP 5.2.3
it must be made easy for children to judge the size, characteristics and performance of advertised products and to distinguish between real-life situations and fantasy
CAP 5.2.4
adult permission must be obtained before children are committed to buying complex or costly products.
CAP 5.3
Marketing communications addressed to or targeted directly at children:
CAP 5.3.1
must not exaggerate what is attainable by an ordinary child using the product being marketed
CAP 5.3.2
must not exploit children's susceptibility to charitable appeals and must explain the extent to which their participation will help in any charity-linked promotions.
CAP 5.4
Marketing communications:
CAP 5.4.1
must not actively encourage children to make a nuisance of themselves to parents or others and must not undermine parental authority
CAP 5.4.2
must not include a direct appeal to children to buy an advertised product or persuade their parents or other adults to buy an advertised product for them.*
(This rule reflects a prohibited practice from Schedule 20 of the DMCCA. See note in Section 3 for more details).
CAP 5.5
Marketing communications that contain a direct appeal to buy a product via a direct-response mechanism must not be directly targeted at children. Direct-response mechanisms are those that allow consumers to place orders without face-to-face contact with the marketer.
CAP 5.6
Promotions addressed to or targeted directly at children:
CAP 5.6.1
must make clear that adult permission is required if a prize or an incentive might cause conflict between a child's desire and a parent's, or other adult's, authority
CAP 5.6.2
must contain a prominent closing date if applicable (see rule 8.17.4)
CAP 5.6.3
must not exaggerate the value of a prize or the chances of winning it.
CAP 5.7
Promotions that require a purchase to participate and include a direct appeal to make a purchase must not be addressed to or targeted at children. See Section 8: Promotional Marketing.