Outsmart, the Out of Home (OOH) advertising trade body formed by media owners, has launched its Get Smart, Outside campaign to work in partnership with public authorities to promote healthy living campaigns in their areas. Outsmart members have pledged to provide unsold advertising space to the value of up to £15m annually to support the campaign.
The initiative recognises the importance of the problem of childhood obesity and builds on previous moves by the industry to tackle the issue such as voluntarily removing advertising of food and drink products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) which might be close to schools.
Space is to be made freely available annually to public authorities who work with Outsmart to promote their own campaigns.
Phil Smith, director general of ISBA, said: “The idea behind the campaign is to help want to create a balance and promote smart choices for all. Children and families are faced with a huge number of food choices but less messages about healthy lifestyles. This initiative backs more of those messages with the power of advertising."
Tim Lumb, director of Outsmart added: "Get Smart, Outside is based on our core belief that we can harness the power of advertising to effect real behavioural change as a force for good. While some bodies are looking at imposing further media restrictions, a better way to tackle the issue is for public authorities and business to work together in partnership.
"We aim to go around the country speaking with local authorities and working in collaboration with them to publicise evidence-based solutions that will reduce childhood obesity, promote a healthy and active lifestyle and effect real behavioural change in kids. Importantly, this will have no cost to already hard-pressed local authorities.”
He explained the sector is looking to discuss a wider package of other measures, including voluntarily adoption of additional advertising guidelines on children’s food preferences; restrictions on multi-buy HFSS promotions; extending Outsmart's existing “schools exclusion zone” with partner authorities; and promoting a healthy lifestyle tagline message on HFSS advertising.
According to Outsmart, these measures underline the determination of the OOH sector to play a positive role in tackling the issue of childhood obesity in partnership with public bodies: "They mirror the large body of evidence on childhood obesity which supports a whole system's approach that is proven to work and in-line with public opinion."