Unilever bans advertising aimed at young children

Unilever, the multinational that owns ice cream brands such as Magnum, will no longer target children under 12 on traditional and social media. The measure follows alarming reports from organisations such as the World Health Organisation regarding childhood obesity.

No more cartoon characters

Under its new ‘responsible marketing’ principles, the Dutch-English multinational states that it will also stop hiring influencers and celebrities who mainly appeal to children under 12. Additionally, the company wants to restrict cartoon the use of cartoon characters in advertising, Reuters reports. The group’s ice cream division is the first of its branches to implement these adjustments. There will, however, be no visible change in shops: children’s ice cream displays will still be (abundantly) present. 

The latest World Health Organisation figures estimate that 124 million children and adolescents were obese in 2016. A further 213 million children between 5 and 19 were overweight. In this context, Unilever draws attention to the considerable efforts it has already made towards reducing sugar levels in children’s ice creams in the past five years.