Advertising Standards Bureau Review of Operations 2015

The Quick Service Restaurant Initiative Complaints relating to the AFGC’s Quick Service Restaurant Initiative (QSRI), falling under the umbrella of the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), are administered by ASB. The QSRI obliges signatories to ensure that only food and beverages that represent healthier choices are promoted directly to children and to ensure parents or guardians can make informed product choices for their children. The QSRI applies to advertising to children under 14. Key issues Key issues to be drawn from cases considered by the Board during 2015 are: • here the Board considered that the W advertisements were not directed primarily to children and therefore the QSRI did not apply, specifically: -- In 2015 six cases were considered under the QSRI, two more than in 2014, but still significantly lower than the 15 cases considered in 2012. No breaches of the QSRI were found. -- S1.1 of the Core Principles of the QSRI is: Advertising and Marketing Communications to Children for food and/or beverages must: • (a) Represent healthier dietary choices, as determined by the Nutrition Criteria; and (a) Reference, or be in the context of, a healthy lifestyle, designed to appeal to Children through messaging that encourages: ii. Physical activity. Independent Arbiter Under the provisions of the QSRI signatories must develop a Company Action Plan which outlines what constitutes a healthier choice. An independent arbiter will advise the ASB whether the product or meal advertised represents a healthier choice. During 2015 the Board consulted with an independent arbiter for McDonalds (0281/15) to determine whether a children’s meal pictured was consistent with the nutrition criteria outlined in McDonalds’ Company Action Plan. The arbiter advised that it did. Review of Operations 2015 billboard advertisement which featured A an older teenage boy eating chicken had appeal to a broad audience and was not directed primarily to children (Yum Restaurants International – 0382/15). wo cases where the Board considered the T advertisements were directed primarily to children but that they were for the healthier choice products and they met the messaging requirements: -- i. Good dietary habits, consistent with established scientific or government standards; and dvertisements which used popular A children’s characters, were not necessarily directed to children, if the other themes, visuals and language in those advertisements were directed at an adult audience (McDonald’s Aust Ltd – 0279/15, 0280/15 and 0282/15). n activity sheet able to be downloaded A from an advertisers website that only included a small image of the advertiser’s logo, and that did not include any images of food, was not considered an advertisement for food or beverages (McDonald’s Aust Ltd – 0281/15), however when accessed through the advertisers website which did include images of food, it was considered an advertisement for food and beverage products. In considering the content the Board determined that the website, and therefore the activity sheet, complied with healthy lifestyle messaging. The Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative Complaints under the AFGC’s Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative (RCMI) are also administered by the ASB. This Initiative applies to advertising to children under 12, and limits marketing communications to children only when it will promote healthy dietary choices and healthy lifestyles. S1.1 of the Core Principles of the RCMI is: Advertising and Marketing Communications to Children for food and/or beverages must: (a) Represent healthier dietary choices, consistent with established scientific or Australian government standards, as detailed in Signatories’ Company Action Plan; and (b) Reference, or be in the context of, a healthy lifestyle, designed to appeal to Children through messaging that encourages: i. Good dietary habits, consistent with established scientific or government standards; and ii. Physical activity. Independent Arbiter Under the provisions of the RCMI signatories must develop a Company Action Plan which outlines what constitutes a healthy dietary choice. An independent arbiter will advise the ASB whether the product or meal advertised represents a healthy dietary choice. During 2015 the Board consulted with an independent arbiter in the following cases: Coca-Cola Amatil (0293/15, 0294/15 and 0310/15) to determine whether the product constituted a healthier dietary choice. The arbiter determined that it did not. CONSUMER COD SOCIAL MED -- An app which featured books that could INDEPENDEN be downloaded for children with the TRANSPORT BRIDGIN purchase of a happy meal, was seen by STANDARDS PEOPL the Board to have messaging encouraging INDUSTRY TRAININ good dietary habits and physical activity GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILI (McDonald’s Aust Ltd – 0336/15). LIAISING INTEGRITY CINEM COOPERATING BILLBOARDS ASSOCIATIN CONSUMERS ADAPTABLE EDUCATORS SOCIAL MED UNITING REPORTS CONSUMERS COMMUNICATIN DETERMINATION TRANSPORT EDUCATORS COD ACCOUNTABILITY RESEARCH INTERNET RELIAB SELF-REGULATE RESPONSIVE MEMBERS TELEVISIO 53 ADVERTISERS POSTERS COMMUNITY DETERMINATION OUTDOO MERGING BILLBOARDS TRANSPARENCY RADIO COMPLAINT PARTNERIN

Advertising Standards Bureau Review of Operations 2015 | Page 55