Turning Attention to Outdoor Advertising

The case for action on HFSS advertising has been made and accepted by politicians.  Interventions such as a 9pm watershed on TV and online restrictions are moving forward in the UK.  We have also seen similar restrictions announced for other countries such as Spain only last week.

But advertising is ubiquitous in nature and to truly change the volume of adverts we are exposed to daily we will require action across all the different forms of advertising. One form that is within the devolved powers of Scottish Government is outdoor advertising.

We have seen examples of success stories for outdoor advertising restrictions with the action of Transport for London (Tfl) which introduced a ban on HFSS adverts across its network in 2019.  It has been reported that despite the protests of industry this actually led to an increase in advertising revenue for TfL while also encouraging over 50 other authorities in the UK to begin adopting the policy.

In its 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan the Scottish Government committed to the following:

‘The Scottish Government will engage with local authorities, transport companies and media agencies to develop a code of practice in 2019, to restrict advertising HFSS foods on sites they manage such as bus shelters, stations and inside buses and trains.’

 However, this has not progressed.

Today, OAS and the East of Scotland Regional Partnership publish a report that considers the view of local authority personnel around the practicalities of introducing health-protecting policies such as restricting HFSS adverts. 

This report will provide greater understanding of the levers that exist within Scotland to deliver change in this area and how we can most effectively pull those levers.  It is clear from this report that a national approach would provide the confidence and consistency that is needed for action.  We hope this report will be the start of a process of change that will see the Scottish Government deliver real action in the area of outdoor advertising.