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By basing itself in London, it comes under Independent Television Commission rules, not those of the Swedish TV regulators. Apart from the wide range of satellite stations available he pointed to the example of TV3, a Swedish company that takes advantage of a legal loophole by broadcasting by satellite from the UK. This is because Swedish children, like their Irish counterparts, have access to stations other than domestic ones. "Sweden's ban is unlikely to be implemented Eurowide for the simple reason that it's been shown not to work." Speaking last month at a conference organised by the British Advertising Association, Erling Bjurstrom, who has advised the Swedish government on advertising legislation, said the ban did not work in practice.
PESTER POWER ADS CODE
"Our code is looked on as a model for other countries to follow," says Steven Shanahan, chief executive of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI). Advertisements, the code states, should make it easy for children to judge the actual size, characteristics and performance of any product advertised and "should not exaggerate what is attainable by an ordinary child using the product".
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The section that deals with advertisements addressed to children seems particularly relevant when put against toy advertising. In Ireland the code, which is overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority, deals with issues relating to truth and accuracy as well some of the broader issuers relating to pester power.Ĭhildren, it states, "should not be made to feel inferior or unpopular for not buying the advertised product" and they should not be encouraged "to make a nuisance of themselves to parents or others with the aim of persuading them to buy the advertised product". and Norway, the Netherlands and Austria all have internal restrictions to varying degrees. In Greece all toy advertising is banned on TV before 10 p.m. In Belgium it is five minutes on either side. In Denmark, the state broadcaster TV2 has agreed with the government that no advertisement aimed at children can be broadcast within one and a half minutes of a children's programme. The mood in several European countries is to tighten up children-and-advertising guidelines. In Ireland, as is the case in most European countries, advertising is a mostly self-regulated industry whereby advertisers and advertising agencies formulate a code of conduct which is usually based on the "legal, decent and truthful" benchmark. The Euro-wide ban on all tobacco advertising is seen by the advertising industry as just the first step in a harmonisation of regulations that will eventually extend to the advertising of cars, alcohol and to children. At certain times during the day every second television advertisement is for the latest high-priced toy, sugary snack or brand of soft drink. It's a scenario that is nearly impossible to imagine in Ireland, particularly in the frenzied run-up to Christmas. And that doesn't just cover the obvious, such as toys it includes foods, sweets, drinks - indeed any product that might appeal to pre-teens. The cornerstone of their legislation is a ban on all television advertisements aimed at children under 12. The Swedes have some of the strictest controls in Europe on children and advertising. Tighter controls on advertising to children will be high on the European agenda when Sweden takes over the EU presidency on January 1st.