The advertising industry is facing harsh criticism these days: advertising is blamed for the
growth in childhood obesity, materialism and the commercialisation of childhood. Concerned
voices are calling for stricter laws and regulations for advertising that targets children. This
paper examines the situation in countries where advertising targeting children has been
banned in broadcast media. It then evaluates the efficacy of introducing similar regulations in
Australia. Academic literature and recent discussions in the “ban-countries” do not provide
evidence that this type of regulated response has the desired effect, nor do they demonstrate
that advertising leads to, for example, obesity in the first place. It would appear that only
anecdotal evidence supports this connection. This situation should be seen as an opportunity
for the industry to act responsibly, rather than a need to ban advertising to children.
Paper delivered at Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, 3-5 December 2007 held at University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ