The 'Wallpaper' of Children's Lives
for members of the Outdoor Media Centre, the trade body for outdoor media owners, states that:
"In the interests of responsible advertising to protect minors from undue exposure to alcohol advertising, Outdoor Media Centre members shall commit to not displaying alcohol advertising on static panels located within a 700 metre radius of school gates."
Outdoor Media Centre, 2011
18.
These restrictions, voluntarily adopted by the industry, are an encouraging example of responsible marketing practice, and we believe that similar measures should be adopted with respect to advertisements containing sexualised imagery. The ASA already takes location into account as part of the overall context when considering the compliance of advertisements to the CAP code, but we believe that stronger emphasis should be placed on location. In addition, parental views on the location of advertising in public spaces should also be sought (see more on the seeking of parental views in Theme 3).
RECOMMENDATION
2.
Reducing the amount of on-street advertising containing sexualised imagery in locations where children are likely to see it. The advertising industry should take into account the social responsibility clause of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code when considering placement of advertisements with sexualised imagery near schools, in the same way as they already do for alcohol advertisements. The
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) should place stronger emphasis on the location of an advertisement, and the number of children likely to be exposed to it, when considering whether an on-street advertisement is compliant with the CAP code. The testing of standards that the ASA undertakes with parents (see Recommendation 7) should also cover parental views on location of advertising in public spaces. ACTION: Advertisers, advertising industry bodies, and the ASAVolume and nature of sexualised content — on television
19.
As noted at the beginning of this chapter, sexualised culture is now mainstream in children's lives, and there is evidence that sexualised imagery and content have become more explicit in its nature, with a perception that its volume is expanding due to the increasing number of media channels available to adults and children.
20.
Parents contributing to the Review objected to behaviour that diminishes their own ability to manage these pressures, typically by putting the parent in a position of having to deal with something at a time or place they did not choose or by being excluded altogether.
27
