Insights

Stricter Rules Now Apply to Children’s Advertising

12 February 2024

As of December 1, 2023, The Australian Association of National Advertisers’ (AANA) new Children’s Advertising Code came into effect. New rules and regulations for advertising now apply to ads that target children under 15. The Code is also no longer limited to advertising children’s products. Instead, the Code’s scope has been extended to cover any and all advertisements directed at children. The Code also recognises the increasing role and subtle advertising techniques of social media influencers (sometimes called “kidfluencers”) in advertising to children. So, if your business advertises to children (or even if your audience is only 25% children), then you need to take extra care when advertising goods or services.

Key changes include:

• A prohibition on marketing hazardous products to children (including vapes, kava or highly caffeinated drinks);
• A prohibition on encouraging unsafe practices (e.g. bullying or unhealthy body image);
• A requirement for influencer advertising to be clearly and immediately recognisable to a child as advertising.
• A prohibition on the use of sexual appeal or sexual imagery in any communication with children;
• A prohibition on the use of images that may unduly frighten or distress children;
• A prohibition on advertising that encourages pester power (e.g. minimising a product price by using “just” or “only, urging children to ask parents to buy a product, or suggesting a product is within reach of every family budget); and
• A prohibition on advertising that undermines parental authority.

If you want to know more about how these changes could affect your business, feel free to contact us.