April 25, 2018 Standing Committee on Health Parliament of Canada Sent
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April 25, 2018 Standing Committee on Health Parliament of Canada Sent by e-mail to: [email protected] Submission for the Standing Committee on Health regarding Bill S-228, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (prohibiting food and beverage marketing directed at children) Executive Summary As the Standing Committee on Health considers BillS-228, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (prohibiting food and beverage marketing directed at children), Mars incorporated has provided the following submission for the committee’s consideration. The proposed draft law S-228 in Canada has generated a high-profile discussion about how marketing should be managed at the federal level in Canada. The experience and model of Quebec has been highlighted as a potential way forward for the country. Mars supports the introduction of a Quebec- style model for the following reasons: • It has been one of the factors that has contributed towards a positive impact on childhood obesity levels. Childhood obesity levels are decreasing in Quebec; • It is holistic in nature, looking at a variety of factors and judging them fairly and equally; • It is focused on the right aspects of a product and its marketing. As the committee examines the impacts of marketing to children through its study of Bill S-228, Mars submits that it is important to determine whether marketing is directed at children under the age of 13 years old, by taking into account the context of the marketing’s presentation and the impression it gives. Mars has provided the committee with a proposed Health Canada guideline text to make this determination. Our proposed guidelines have been developed based on the following criteria: A. For whom are the advertised goods primarily intended? Is the product intended for use by a child and if not how appealing is it likely to be? B. Are the marketing creative execution techniques designed to attract the attention of or appeal to children? C. Are children targeted by the advertisement or exposed to it? Are they present where and when the marketing appears? D. Does the marketing use giveaways (e.g. toys as per Quebec) in the product format or marketing? Finally, and as stipulated previously, Mars is supportive of the Quebec approach to marketing to children. We recommend and support the following amendments to the text in Bill S-228 9 (changes indicated in red): “Section 7.1 Subject to the regulations, no person shall advertise foods high in fat, sugar, or salt in a manner that is directed primarily at persons under thirteen years of age. This applies to all media channels, including digital. Section 30.1 (e.1) for the purposes of section 7.1, (i) defining foods high in fat, sugar, or salt through a nutrient criteria aligned with the 2015 World Health Organization’s Factsheet 394: Healthy Diet; (ii) to determine whether foods high in fat, sugar, or salt are advertised in a manner that is primarily directed to persons under thirteen years of age, account must be taken of the context of its presentation, and in particular of: (a) The product nature and format, and its intended audience and use; (b) the manner of presenting such advertisement, including creative execution techniques; (c) the profile of media channel, time and place it is shown or likely to be viewed (d) the use of incentives, games, collectables or toys in the product format or advertisement. The fact that such advertisement may be contained in printed or digital media intended for persons thirteen years of age and over or intended both for persons under thirteen years of age and for persons thirteen years of age and over, or that it may be placed in media in a way that is intended for persons thirteen years of age and over or intended both for persons under thirteen years of age and for persons thirteen years of age and over does not create a presumption that it is not directed at persons under thirteen years of age.” Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to make this submission and we are available to answer any additional questions you may have. Michelle Lefler, Director, Corporate Affairs Mars Wrigley Confectionery [email protected] ABOUT MARS Mars’ Canadian operations are part of Mars, Incorporated, one of the world’s largest family-owned companies. Mars’ Canadian history is rich, stemming from 1910 when the first Wrigley factory was opened. Today Mars employs 1,200 Canadian associates across five business segments – Chocolate, Petcare, Food, Wrigley and Drinks. Our Canadian portfolio of products includes EXCEL, JUICY FRUIT, SKITTLES, MARS, M&M’s, MALTESERS, PEDIGREE, WISKAS, ROYAL CANIN and UNCLE BEN’S. MARS MARKETING CODE Our Mars Marketing Code (MMC) is one of the most restrictive in the food industry and we have been a leader in this area since 2007. We are one of a few companies to commit not to undertake any marketing to children under 12 and to uphold a 25% child audience threshold across all paid marketing. We direct all marketing communications in Digital Media to adults and teenagers (age 13 or older), instead of children age 12 and older, consistent with the requirements of the U.S. law known as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). MARS COMMITMENT TO RESPONSIBLE MARKETING We continually evaluate our marketing practices and look for ways that we can do better. For years, we have worked in partnership with the global industry through the European Union (EU), the National Confectioners Association (NCA), the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA), the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), the Food and Consumers Products of Canada (FCPC) and others, in an effort to lead the industry in a more responsible direction and encourage our peers to improve their food marketing practices. Our full Marketing Code is available here. 2 MARS RESPONSIBLE MARKETING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANADA The proposed draft law S-228 in Canada has generated a high-profile discussion about how marketing should be managed at the federal level in Canada. The experience and model of Quebec has been highlighted as a potential way forward for the country. Mars supports the introduction of a Quebec-style model for the following reasons: • It has been one of the factors that has contributed towards a positive impact on childhood obesity levels. Childhood obesity levels are decreasing in Quebec; • It is holistic in nature, looking at a variety of factors and judging them fairly and equally; • It is focused on the right aspects of a product and its marketing. PROPOSED HEALTH CANADA GUIDELINE TEXT To determine whether marketing is directed at children under the age of 13 years old, it is necessary to take into account the context of the marketing’s presentation and the impression it gives. The following four criteria provides four criteria that correspond to the following questions: A. For whom are the advertised goods primarily intended? Is the product intended for use by a child and if not how appealing is it likely to be? B. Are the marketing creative execution techniques designed to attract the attention of or appeal to children? C. Are children targeted by the advertisement or exposed to it? Are they present given where and when the marketing appears? D. Does the marketing use giveaways (e.g. toys as per Quebec) in the product format or marketing? Each marketing execution will analyse the relationship between the four criteria listed above, allowing for a holistic approach to their assessment. Each criterion, when considered separately, will not be decisive in itself. All criterion should be assessed together to form a holistic view of the product and its marketing activities. Criterion A: For whom are the advertised goods primarily intended? Is the product intended for use by a child and if not how appealing is it likely to be? It is important to determine whether the advertised goods are intended for children and the appeal that such goods have for them. The goods may: A. Be a product intended primarily to be consumed by children and therefore appeals to them. This can be evaluated by assessing the following attributes: • Products designed primarily for children (i.e. it would be highly unusual to see an adult consume these products) – These include items designed for children’s lunch boxes and child occasions, like parties. • Portion size – Small, bitesize portions drive child consumption as they are often bought by or for children, whereas larger, shareable packs make it a universally appealing product. • Size and shape – Child- appealing products tend to be shaped like animals, mythical creatures, animal-related (e.g. eggs) or other objects (e.g. footballs, princesses, etc.) that children have a natural tendency to relate to. • Unique eating experience created by colour, texture and mouthfeel – Children are naturally drawn to exciting colours or textures such as products creating a popping, prickling or foaming sensation in their mouth. 3 B. Appeal to children without being exclusively intended for them and targeting a universal or family audience (an amusement park or video game console, for instance); C. Not particularly appeal to children (cleaning products or financial services, for instance). The fact that an advertisement concerns goods that do not particularly appeal to children does not necessarily mean that it is allowed. The three other criteria must also be taken into account. Criterion B: Are the marketing creative execution techniques designed to attract the attention of or appeal to children? The overall impression given by the message’s delivery and execution need to be taken into account and the way it is designed must be examined to determine if it makes the marketing primarily appealing to children.