Great Britain, already the birthplace of such progressive ideas as carbon labeling and the congestion tax, has long made a practice of banning advertisements that go against the nation's progressive values. Lately, Britain seems to be in the midst of an ad-banning frenzy. In addition to bans on ads for online gambling, violent video games, tobacco products, and the word "bloody" (since overturned), Britain has placed bans on several types of food that the government feels are unhealthy, especially for children. Already banned or on the chopping block are ads for:
• Junk food. A British ban on advertising for fast-food restaurants and other foods that are, according to the British Food Standards Agency, "high in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar" went into effect earlier this year. The ban specifically targets children's programming, and shows that are watched predominantly by children under 16. This seems like a reasonable (if costly--the British government anticipates the loss of £39 million in TV ad revenue) restriction; here in the US, airwaves are saturated literally day and night with ads for fast-food restaurants, beef, soft drinks, and the latest candy bar. Banning ads for vices that are bad for kids, such as tobacco and alcohol, seems like a no-brainer; a whole hour of television without fast-food ads would be a godsend for everyone.
• Eggs. On a related note, Britain seems poised to ban a revival of the once-ubiquitous "Go to Work on an Egg" ads, on the grounds that eggs are too unhealthy to eat every day. "This concept of eating eggs every day for breakfast unfortunately goes against what is now the generally accepted advice of eating a varied diet," the British broadcast industry watchdog group that banned the ads said in a statement. This strikes me as more than a little silly. Eating an egg every single day might get a bit monotonous, but surely it wouldn't be a problem for a person with a healthy cholesterol level. In addition, battery cages are being banned throughout the European Union and almost half of the eggs sold in British supermarkets are free-range, making eggs in Britain a relatively humane choice as well as a healthy one.
• Infant formula. Breastfeeding is a remarkably controversial subject for something that's literally as natural as breathing. In Britain, that controversy has taken the form of a ban on advertising for formula for newborns--and a debate over whether to ban ads for so-called "follow-on" milk formulas, too. According to the BBC, "it is unclear whether a ban is likely, but it is thought that companies will no longer be able to make claims about similarity to breast milk on their packets under new restrictions." Although the usefulness of banning ads for infant formula in a nation that already has invested millions of dollars promoting breastfeeding to its population seems questionable, it makes sense that a ban against infant formula ads should encompass products that are almost identical (in name and content) to those marketed for newborn use. An international boycott effort against Nestle, the largest producer of baby formula, has gone on since the 1970s, and is particularly active in the UK.
Here's a modest proposal for British ad regulators: Ban all advertising directed at children under a certain age--say, 12. Include infants in that group, and ban ads for products their parents would buy for them to use. The result: No more ads for junk food, no more ads for formula, and you get rid of ads for plastic diapers while you're at it.
