Britvic's marketing boss: let's get real on childhood obesity

If advertisers want to be seen as responsible, it’s time for a specific focus: we need to look more closely at our relationship with children.

 

Advertising and children is almost always top of the polls when advertising’s think tank, Credos, asks MPs and the public about their concerns.

 

Later this month advertising’s summit, LEAD, returns for its fifth birthday to renew the debate on advertising’s responsibilities. The Advertising Association’s (AA) president Andy Duncan insists that business leaders act to show that we really are the collection of responsible organisations we claim to be. As chair of the AA’s Front Foot, advertising’s army of brands, agencies and media that makes its case to government and beyond, it’s an agenda I’m right behind.

 

Advertising and children is a vast and controversial topic, with more perspectives and arguments than I could hope to cover in this short article. But I can see a clear path towards increased public trust and confidence in our sector. This involves some simple steps forward and there are three topics I’d like our industry to think about.

 

First, let’s get real on the health agenda.

 

Childhood obesity is a major challenge facing our society. What individual companies do to play their part in tackling it is their decision, but it’s a part that has to be played, in some form or other.

 

That can be looking at calories in, or calories out. Take the combined wisdom and energy of our agency sectors, the reach of our media and the power of our brands and we could make huge strides in increasing children’s levels of activity.

 

At Britvic, for example, last year we teamed up with Tough Mudder to establish Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder – a chance to inspire kids to get active and explore their adventurous sides, and we’re expanding that format this year to reach more children. What could your brand do?

 

Second, take a closer look at your advertising.

 

The advertising codes have long afforded a special protection to children, but as a marketer you can go above and beyond legal requirements – whether that means signing up to industry-wide pledges, such as the EU Pledge, or developing your own set of guiding principles, such as our global marketing code where we commit not to advertise to under-12s. Doing the bare minimum of code compliance won’t cut it any more.

 

Finally, it’s time to invest in media literacy.

 

Young people grow up in a world full of commercial messaging, and it’s more important than ever that they are able to understand exactly what they’re being told in the ads they see.

 

Through Media Smart, a not-for-profit backed by a number of likeminded companies in the UK, young people have access to free materials that help them to think critically about the ads they see on a day to day basis. Its last batch of resources have been downloaded more than 9,000 times since they were launched last year, and I’d like to see that number improve this year. Backing the programme would go a long way to helping out.

 

The ongoing debate ahead of the government’s childhood obesity strategy shows not only a huge public interest in how we interact with children, but a high political risk too – the very principle of self-regulation is under attack.

 

If advertising really wants the reputation of the responsible sector I know it to be, I hope this year’s priority is a concerted effort to do better when it comes to children.

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Matt Barwell is the chief marketing officer at Britvic. The AA’s LEAD Summit is taking place on the 28th January 2016. The Guardian is a sponsor of the event and the Media and Tech Network is a media partner.

This article originally appeared on the Guardian's website. Browse more from Matt Barwell here.