Reduced
ads urged during children's TV programmes-study
A regional study on the influence of television advertisements on
children found that the vast majority of parents from the six countries
surveyed were in favour of a reduction of the number of advertisements
during children's broadcasting.
This
was one of the findings in a recent research conducted by Consumers
International Asia Pacific Office on food advertising directed at
children in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines
and South Korea.
The
report, a copy of which was obtained by The Sunday Times FT, draws
on evidence from other studies largely performed in western countries.
The study highlights the shared concerns of consumer organisations
in the participating countries on the impact of such advertising,
its insufficient regulation and the need for greater consumer education.
The main findings of the regional study are listed below.
The
power of television
*Through television, advertisers can reach a whole spectrum of consumers.
Children are exposed to an overwhelming amount of advertising as
there is little regulation controlling the programme-to-advertisement
ratio. Some 30 percent of Malaysian children watch over eight hours
of television a day during holidays and are exposed to over two
and half hours of advertisements a day.
*
The majority of children believe television advertisements to be
informative and most children respond to them favourably. About
73 percent of Pakistani children claim to love advertisements as
do 68 percent of Filipino children. Malaysian children are not so
fond of advertisements, probably because they watch the most television
and get frustrated by the constant interruption caused by commercial
breaks.
Food
advertisement
*In India, 40-50 percent of advertisements during children's programming
were for food. For Pakistan, the Philippines and Malaysia the percentage
of food advertisements varied between 50 and 75 percent.
*In the Philippines, programme-to-advertisement ratios during children's
programming go up to 50 percent.
Pester
power
*More than 50 percent of parents in all countries surveyed say that
their children are an important factor in influencing their purchasing
decisions. Indian, Malaysian and Pakistani parents cited "child's
demand" as the primary reason for buying a product.
Nutrition
knowledge
* Some 73 percent of Pakistani children perceive soft drinks to
be healthy for frequent consumption.
In the Philippines 80 percent of children and 71 percent of parents,
drink soft drinks at least once a week, as do 71 percent of South
Koreans.
*Some 40 percent of parents and 63 percent of children in the Philippines
believe fast food to be fit for frequent consumption.
Current
legislation
*All six countries have legislative frameworks governing advertising
in general and most have guidelines for advertising to children
in particular. Only The Philippines and South Korea have laws pertaining
to the advertisement of fast food and confectionery.
*South Korea and the Philippines are the only two countries to have
specific regulations pertaining to the sponsorship of children's
programmes.
|
