Advertising has become like the air we breathe – it’s everywhere – and parents are increasingly concerned for their children. Health experts say that, by the age of ten, today’s average child is familiar with about 400 brand names.

The National Family and Parenting Institute reports that 84% of US parents believe too much marketing is aimed at children. And adults are victims, too, through “pester power”, which pits the ad-induced wants of children against the willpower of their parents.

Nowhere is this more pervasive, or dangerous to the health of both parents and children, than in the case of food advertising. And as parents watch children’s waistlines grow and look for answers, one obvious culprit is the food and drinks industry, which spends $900 million a year on adverts aired during TV programmes tailored to children under 12 in the US.

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