IPA attacks FSA call for junk food advertising ban

However, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising says that a pre-9pm ban on advertising all high fat, salt and sugar foods will not solve the problem of obesity, but will mean a multimillion-pound loss of advertising revenue to broadcasters.

Last week, Ofcom released figures estimating that television was at risk of losing as much as £140.8m a year, out of the total £5.6bn UK TV generates in ad revenue annually.

The IPA also points out that the FSA does not have the remit to consider wider social issues such as exercise as part of healthy living and so questions the legitimacy of its call for an outright ban on junk food advertising.

Marina Palomba, a spokesperson for the IPA, said: "It is nonsense to accuse advertisers of making people fat, when some well-known food brands have been advertised on television for over 40 years.

"There is no such thing as bad food, only a bad diet. Obesity is about a calories in and calories out issue.

"And obesity levels have increased since playing fields have been sold off and compulsory sports removed from school curriculums."

The Ofcom public consultation closes on June 30 and the IPA will be making a submission by the deadline.

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