Children as Consumers
8.
Prohibiting the employment of children as brand ambassadors and in peer-to-peer marketing. The Committee ofAdvertising Practice and other advertising and marketing bodies should urgently explore whether, as many parents believe, the advertising self—regulatory codes should prohibit the employment of children under the age of 16 as brand ambassadors or in peer—to—peer marketing – where people are
paid, or paid in kind, to promote products, brands or services. ACTION: Committee of Advertising Practice, the Advertising Association and relevant regulators9.
Defining a child as under the age of 16 in all types of advertising regulation. The ASA should conduct research with parents, children and young people to determine whether the ASA should always define a child as a person under the age of 16, in line with the Committee of Advertising Practice and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice codes. ACTION: ASA
10.
Raising parental awareness of marketing and advertising techniques. Industry and regulators should work together to improve parental awareness of marketing and advertising techniques and of advertising regulation and complaints processes and to promote industry best practice. ACTION: Advertising and marketing industry, with the ASA and the Advertising Association
11.
Quality assurance for media and commercial literacy resources and education for children. These resources should always include education to help children develop their emotional resilience to the commercial and sexual pressures that today's world places on them. Providers should commission independent evaluation of their provision, not solely measuring take—up but, crucially, to assess its effectiveness. Those bodies with responsibilities for promoting media literacy, including Ofcom and the BBC, should encourage the development of minimum standards guidance for the content of media and commercial literacy education and resources to children. ACTION: Media and commercial literacy providers, with Ofcom and the BBC
Introduction
1.
The commercial world is an inextricable part of our lives and our society. The complexity of the relationship between that world and childhood is well documented in the 2009 assessment for Government of the impact of the commercial world on children's wellbeing. The commercial world is valued for the benefits and opportunities it offers, but parents and parenting organisations express concerns regarding the pressure it is seen to exert (DCSF/DCMS, 2009; Phoenix, 2011).
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