Evaluate your readiness for integrated marketing communications with our bespoke online tool.

At a press conference called by the Singaporean Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS), and attended by the Minister of Health, Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, a new set of Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Guidelines was announced.

The guidelines are the result of a public-private partnership and were negotiated in a multi-stakeholder committee including industry (WFA, Food Industry Asia and the Singapore Manufacturers Association), government (the Health Promotion Board of the Ministry of Health) and ASAS representatives over the past two years. They will form part the of the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP) and will come into force as of 1 January 2015 to all advertisers in Singapore and will be enforced by ASAS.

Key elements:

• Food and beverage marketing communications for products that do not meet common nutrition criteria cannot be addressed primarily to children aged 12 and under.
• “Primarily addressed to children” is defined on the basis of (1) the placement and (2) the content of the marketing communication.
• A set of interpretative guidelines accompanying the code outline what the placement restrictions mean in practice, i.e. providing lists of Singapore TV and radio channels/programmes and print titles deemed to be targeted at children aged 12 and under; movie rating guidance for cinema; a specific rule for outdoor: not placing advertising for such products within 50 metres of primary schools.
• The interpretative guidelines also detail the elements of advertising content (creative execution) that are likely to make a marketing communication designed to be primarily appealing to children (e.g. use of particular licensed characters, popular personalities, games etc. – brand equity characters are out of scope). Ultimate determinations will be made by ASAS following consumer or competitor complaints.
• The rules are applicable across all media with the exception of: (1) Packaging; (2) Ordinary display at point of sale (further defined in the code); (3) Brand and corporate sponsorship (further defined in the code)
• The common nutrition criteria, developed by an expert industry working group over the past year, are inspired by the EU Pledge common nutrition criteria, but adapted for the Singaporean context based on local dietary guidelines, product portfolios and dietary habits. The criteria have been agreed with the Singapore Health Promotion Board (Ministry of Health), which has endorsed them.
• In order to ensure effective implementation, advertisers wishing to market food and beverage products that are directed primarily at children aged 12 years and under will need to complete a Nutrition Criteria Compliance Certificate and supply the media owner with the completed certificate. Media owners will act as gatekeepers and ensure that ads for products not meeting the nutrition criteria are not placed in children's media, as defined in the interpretative guidelines.

Next steps:

• Training: A training workshop will be organised in November 2014, with the support of WFA, to ensure that all parties involved (advertisers, media owners, agencies, ASAS, government) align on a common understanding of the new rules. A follow-up workshop should be held in March 2015.
• Entry into force: 1 January 2015
• Enforcement: The implementation of the code will be monitored through complaint handling and ex-post monitoring by ASAS of a random samples of marketing communications. An annual monitoring report will be published, starting end of 2015.
• Review: The multi-stakeholder Committee that developed the guidelines will meet on a six-monthly basis for the coming 2 years (2015-2016) to assess implementation and review the need for any updates.

Sign up to monthly WFA news