Under tough new advertising rules foods which are high in fat, sugar and salt are not to be portrayed as healthy in commercials, and celebrities cannot be used to promote them to children.
The changes to the advertising code mean that only ads promoting more nutritious food choices can be shown to children. And from now on, using celebrities such as cyclist Sarah Ulmer to help sell food which is deemed unhealthy to children, will no longer be allowed.
"Companies who are using celebrities in relation to endorsement with any food will have to take a great deal of care around those issues," says Hilary Souter of the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Advertising Standards Authority has updated two advertising codes for food and children, and ads must now reflect the Ministry of Health's healthy eating and nutrition guidelines.
Among the new guidelines, ads must not be misleading and they cannot encourage children to eat or drink "treat" foods to excess. They also must not encourage children to substitute main meals for snack or fast foods.
"The industry has been involved in the process, they had representatives on the committee that looked at the actual codes, and I think that hopefully they'll take them on board and we'll see some change," says Souter.
Advertising industry groups admit that such changes reflect consumer demand.
"We're living in an environment where high levels of social responsibility are being acknowledged and accepted by advertisers, and I think the moves will be well accepted," says Jeremy Irwin of the Association of NZ Advertisers.
