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On 24 November, WFA announced and presented the enhanced EU Pledge together with the 2013 monitoring results to the EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health hosted by the European Commission.

The EU Pledge is a voluntarily industry commitment by 21 leading food and non-alcoholic beverage companies to change the way they advertise to children. The EU Pledge was launched in December 2007 as part of signatories' commitment to the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, the multi-stakeholder forum set up by former EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Markos Kyprianou in 2005 to encourage stakeholders to take initiatives aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles in Europe. In the context of the EU Platform, the EU Pledge commitment is owned by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), which also supports the programme.

Since its adoption in 2009, the EU Pledge has been strengthened twice. The latest iteration enhances the EU Pledge in two main aspects:

• First, it extends the scope of media covered. As of end of 2016, when the enhanced EU Pledge enters into force, the commitment will cover in addition to TV, print, internet and company-owned websites also radio, cinema, DVD/CD-ROM, direct marketing, product placement, interactive games, mobile and SMS marketing.
• Second, the new policy will ensure that where no reliable audience measurement data is available, advertisers consider not only the placement, but also the overall impression of the marketing communication, to ensure that if the product in question does not meet the common nutrition criteria, the communication is not primarily directed to children.

WFA also presented the results of the 2013 monitoring report exercise conducted independently by Accenture Media Management and the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA).

Compliance record of for 2013 is very high and consistent with previous years. The overall compliance rate is 98.1% for television and 94% for company-owned websites. For the fifth year running, monitoring confirms a downward trend in children's exposure to TV food advertising by EU Pledge member companies (2005 baseline):

• A very substantial reduction in children's exposure to advertising for products that do not meet nutrition criteria through children's programmes (>35% <12 audiences): -83% this year. Over all markets monitored in the past 5 years the average is -82%
• A reduction in children's exposure to advertising for products that do not meet nutrition criteria in all programmes: -44% this year. Over all markets monitored in the past 5 years the average is -47%.
• An overall reduction in children's exposure to advertising for all EU Pledge member companies' products (regardless of nutrition criteria): -37% this year. Over all markets monitored in the past 5 years the average is -31%.

The European Commission acknowledged once again that the EU Pledge is one of the most important industry commitments to the EU Platform and welcomed the enhanced commitments.

For more background information, feel free to contact Abtin Kronold at [email protected]


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