December 21, 2016

"Healthy eating" censorship

Like most government edicts, this one is a crock.  Nobody in fact knows what healthy eating is.  Up until a couple of years ago sugar was fine and fat was bad.  Now that has gone into reverse. It's all just poorly founded speculation, not knowledge.  If much the same evidence can lead to totally opposite conclusions, how can we have any trust in the conclusions?

And this episode below is in fact a function of the old advice to avoid fat.  If they were up to date with the current wisdom, they would have concluded that the food concerned was GOOD for your health.



IT’S a seemingly innocent advert featuring two young kids and treasure chest. The 15-second YouTube advert shows two children on a beach who discover a treasure chest with the ice-cream inside.

But the Paddle Pop Twirly Pop advert has been banned by the Advertising Standards Bureau after a complaint that it promotes unhealthy eating and obesity in children.

The Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) said the ad breached the Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative (RCMI). The initiative aims to reduce advertising to youngsters for food and drinks that are not healthier choices.

It not only applies to television but also to radio, print, cinema and internet sites as well.

In the OPC’s submission, reported by Fairfax, it stated: “In our submission the advertisement breaches … the RCMI, because it is a communication directed primarily to children, Paddle Pop Twirly Pops do not represent a healthier dietary choice … and it does not promote healthy dietary habits or physical activity.

“We do not think that the message is sufficient to promote good dietary habits or physical activity. In our view, child viewers of the advertisement are unlikely to pay significant attention to the message and are likely to be focused on the visual and audio content.”

The ABS agreed that the ad was aimed at children under 12 and had minimal nutritional benefits and upheld the November complaint.

In its initial response to the complaint, ice-cream manufacturer Unilever said the ad carried a message “True heroes balance energy intake and activity; enjoy Paddle Pop as a treat within a balanced diet” for eight seconds of the video.

A spokeswoman for Unilever told news.com.au that it was committed to responsible marketing and advertising.  “As part of our ongoing commitment to the RCMI and the review process under the ASB we accept the decision of the independent arbiter and will ensure that appropriate steps are taken to comply with the decision,” she said.

“The TVC will not be rebroadcast and we are in the process of removing it from YouTube.”

SOURCE






Go to John Ray's Main academic menu
Go to Menu of longer writings
Go to John Ray's basic home page
Go to John Ray's pictorial Home Page
Go to Selected pictures from John Ray's blogs