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Seven breaches Children’s Licensing Standards with McDonalds ads

A Seven ID full of McDonald's branding during kid's TV shows is slapped by the media watchdog.

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The media watchdog has found that the Seven Network breached the Children’s Licensing Standards by running station IDs that were deemed as promotions for McDonalds.

The IDs ran 39 times between October and November 2010, showing McDonald’s playgrounds, golden arches, characters including the Hamburglar and Grimace. They included a red Seven for a small proportion of their length.

They ran during broadcasts of kids shows Toybox and Spit it Out.

But the Australian Communications and Media Authority has deemed that the IDs were an advertisement for McDonald’s which contravenes The Children’s Television Standards that bans advertising during preschool (P) viewing periods and limits ads during (C) viewing periods.

“The ACMA remains serious about the protection of children during children’s programming, particularly given their vulnerability to forms of advertising that are not well signposted or have the potential to be unduly influential,” said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.

ACMA has issued a remedial direction to Seven that requires its five licensees to implement a process for reviewing all non-program material that will be broadcast during P programming periods and to conduct training for appropriate employees.

10 Responses

  1. I think what ACMA’s message to the networks is this: “No fast food ads or celebrity role models until after 4:30pm, or we will take a big chunk of money out of your hide!! These networks need to see past pester power or their station manager can go find him/herself another job on tv!”

    I think we either need to devise a new TV subclassfication (somewhere between the C and G classifications) in this country that would allow companies like Hogsbreath Cafe, McDonalds, et al to advertise stuff during kids game shows, or revamp the current system.

    Oh and btw ACMA, if I worked for Seven or Nine during afternoon hours and worked the ad breaks, that Hogsbreath cafe ad with the V8 Supercar stars in it is playing anyway. I spit on your ‘Code Of Practice’!

  4. So another slap on the wrist to our networks breaching. I said it before and will say it again until something big happens with these breaches they will keep doing it regardless of what network does it

  5. ac·me/ˈakmē/
    Noun: The point at which someone or something is best, perfect, or most successful.

    ACMA: waste of taxpayer’s money.

    If they were serious about what they were doing, ACMA should have had the offending “IDs” pulled immediately.

    Seven management see themselves as masters of ‘integration’.. winning awards for such blatant advertising dressed up as IDs. It’s reprehensible that they sold space in their IDs to flog G Donalds. Will they be giving out cigarettes in 7 showbags next?

  6. I swear ACMA is the most useless organisation in this country. The organisation needs a total overhaul – get rid of management and implement people who can actually punish people for breaches

  7. I honestly think, a serious breach like this deserves a serious penalty, like a fine: not being told to make amends.

    No wonder people, want ACMA to be tougher on this stuff: as we must also remember, that ACMA stung 7 over a Hogs Breath ad with popular characters in a C-period earlier this year, with a similar lightweight penalty.

  8. “The ACMA remains serious about the protection of children during children’s programming”

    What a joke. If they’re serious, slap them with a fine or can’t they do that. We the tax payers are now subsidising theFTA tv station through the federal government rebate of the licence fees, and they have the gaul to breach the Children’s Licensing Standards. You can’t till me they didn’t know what they were doing.

  9. “… implement a process for reviewing … and to conduct training for appropriate employees.”

    Hah! I made a comment in the ACMA govt inquiry article about these two “punishments” being handed out to newspapers if ACMA were to expand their area of authority to cover the press. The wording is very similar and very familiar! However, I was obviously way out of line with my estimate of 12 months as this case has only taken ACMA 10 months to make a finding. Woop-de-doo.

  10. David Knox wrote:

    “The IDs ran 39 times between October and November 2010 …”

    Another example of why ACMA needs to be gutted. Hanged, drawn and quartered in the public square. That is a disgrace; 2010 is, in television terms, just nudging the Neolithic. Let’s just whip through the Dark Ages and bring on the Reformation!

    To expose kids to such crap is, in my opinion, abuse.

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