PepsiCo says it has curbed its adverts to children
PepsiCo, one of the world's largest makers of soft drinks and snack foods, has introduced voluntary restrictions on its advertising to children, in response to rising levels of obesity in the US and western Europe.
The company, responsible for brands such as Pepsi-Cola and Doritos chips has also placed limits on the portion sizes of products sold in US schools.
The measures are the latest in a series of efforts by food and drink producers to prove they can be trusted to regulate themselves, amid mounting pressure on governments to curb obesity.
The European Commission has threatened to outlaw advertising of food and drink to children if the industry does not change its behaviour and the UK government is considering red warning labels on fattening products.
PepsiCo executives and officials told the FT that the company was no longer advertising its flagship cola to children under 12 or its Cheetos chips brand to under-eights. The policy has been in place for several months but the company decided against announcing it publicly in contrast to Kraft, another US food group, which grabbed headlines in January by saying it would reduce its advertising to children.
“Our intent is not to just beat our chests and try to take credit for what we're doing,” said Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive of Frito-Lay North America, PepsiCo's snacks unit. “We're just quietly doing it because it's the right thing to do.”
She said the company had replaced its fried Cheetos with a lower-fat baked alternative in elementary schools and limited serving sizes for all snacks to 150 calories, rising to 300 calories in middle schools. But critics say food and drinks companies can still target children via indirect marketing, such as endorsements by sports or pop stars and product placement in films and TV.
In a series of interviews, PepsiCo executives rejected calls for a blanket ban on advertising to children, arguing it would reduce the industry's ability to help tackle obesity by promoting healthy products and lifestyles.
“We don't think banning things is the right way to go because that removes a channel through which we can be part of the solution,” said Steve Reinemund, chairman and chief executive. Indeed, Frito-Lay said it would be increasing its overall advertising to young people through the promotion of its healthier products category, known as “Smart Spot”.
Mike White, chief executive of PepsiCo's international division, said the most effective ways to reduce childhood obesity were to reduce time spent by children in front of TVs and computer screens and provide them with more opportunities for exercise.
百事可乐限制儿童广告
百事可乐(PepsiCo)自愿推出针对儿童的广告限制措施，以对美国和西欧日益上升的肥胖水平做出反应。百事是全球最大的软饮料和快餐食品生产商之一。
该公司还对在美国学校销售产品的包装份量做出限制。该公司拥有百事可乐(Pepsi-Cola)和立体脆(Doritos)薯片等品牌。
由于要求政府控制肥胖症的压力日益增加，各家食品和饮料生产商采取一系列措施，证明人们可以信赖它们实行自律，百事的举措是最新发展。
欧盟委员会已发出警告，如果食品和饮料行业不改变其行为，将用法律禁止针对儿童的食品饮料广告。英国政府正考虑在增肥产品上贴上红色警告标签。
百事高管和官员们告诉《金融时报》，公司现已不再向12岁以下儿童宣传它的旗舰产品百事可乐，也不再向8岁以下儿童宣传奇多(Cheetos)薯条品牌。这一政策虽已落实多月，但公司决定不公开宣布，这与另一家美国食品集团卡夫(Kraft)的做法形成对比，后者在1月份表示将减少针对儿童的广告，被媒体大肆报道。
“我们的意图不是大事张扬，并因我们的行动得到好评，”百事快餐分公司菲多利北美(Frito-Lay North America)首席执行官艾琳?罗森菲尔德(Irene Rosenfeld)表示，“我们只是在不事声张地这样做，因为这样做是正确的。”
她表示，公司已在小学里用其它低脂烘培产品来代替油炸的奇多品牌产品，并把所有单份零食的卡路里含量限制在150大卡，这一限制在中学提高至300大卡。但批评人士表示，食品和饮料公司仍可以通过间接营销把儿童作为目标，如体育或流行明星代言，以及让产品在电影和电视中出现。
在一系列采访中，百事高管拒绝全面禁止对儿童做广告的呼吁，他们辩称，那将减少行业通过宣传健康产品和健康生活方式来帮助解决肥胖问题的能力。
