Should Spain Ban Diet Ads Before 10 p.m.?
“Mommy, what’s an erection that lasts longer than four hours?”
That’s the innocent-but-loaded question that was asked to a mother I met recently, after her seven-year-old son had apparently seen one too many erectile dysfunction commercials…an entirely different type of ED than we’re used to talking about here at NeverSayDiet. She was aghast, to say the least, and I’m sure she started monitoring the programs her little boy was watching from that point on (no more Tiger Woods golf tournaments or NASCAR races for him!) And while we know he has no idea what he was saying - just like I had little understanding of what I was saying when I, at age three years asked an older gentleman in line in front of my mom and I while buying groceries, “Do you have a penis?” (Old man: “Well, yes.” Me: “Yeah, so does my little brother and when he pees, it goes up REALLY high!”) – that little boy’s question proves a point: Kids soak up the messages they hear, whether it’s being said on TV, flashing across the internet screen, or overheard in an everyday discussion.
It’s this concern that is helping drive a proposed law in Spain that would ban marketers from advertising certain beauty products and services, such as cosmetic surgery and diet aids, before 10 p.m. as the government attempts to reduce the ever-mushrooming number of eating disorders afflicting young women.
The new law states: "Broadcasters cannot carry advertisements for things that encourage the cult of the body and have a negative impact on self-image -- such as slimming products, surgical procedures and beauty treatments -- which are based on ideas of social rejection as a result of one's physical image or that success is dependent on factors such as weight or looks."
It’s not the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Many countries have banned all alcohol advertising on television. In the U.S., alcohol ads are only supposed to be placed in media where 70% of the audience is over the age of 21 (i.e. no Joe Camel commercials during Handy Manny.)
The ban is actually not aimed at very young girls, but rather young adults. I still like the idea of turning on the TV and not having to see a commercial for Jenny Craig or alli. This is definitely a step in the right direction. But it’s a small step on a very long path. Because the fact remains that even if these ads are relegated to the late night time slots, the actual programs they’re usually interspersed between will no doubt still threaten women’s body image, whether it’s a Bachelor-type dating program or an episode of Dr. 90210 detailing a mother-daughter liposuction journey. Alex Pallete, chief strategic officer at Lowe Group's Lola Madrid (a major creative agency) said, "The goal is that no under-18s will be affected by mental issues like anorexia and bulimia. In Spain, people tend to go for non-surgical methods of slimming, like not eating or vomiting, but we have had a lot of immigration from Latin America, where plastic surgery is much more common, and their culture has ‘influenced our culture." That’s a pretty lofty goal – NO anorexia or bulimia in women under 18. But why not shoot for the stars?
If Spain needs any suggestions for ban-worthy ads, I’ve got a few ideas here.
