Now fast food outlets are sending direct mailers to kids under the age of 12 as part of online marketing campaigns to pre-teens that include special offers, free food vouchers and competitions. Outlet names like Hungry Jacks and Taco Bill Mexican Restaurants have come up in a submission to a Senate inquiry on privacy laws made by a coalition of some of the country’s peak health bodies.
The matter was raised by the Obesity Policy Coalition, which includes the World Health Organisation, Diabetes Australia, VicHealth and Cancer Council of Victoria. The coalition has called on the Federal Government to amend the Privacy Act to outlaw direct mail advertising to children. It is also protesting against online promotion of confectionery products such as Smarties - a Nestle product - which recently ran an online colouring competition for three to 10-year-olds.
Obesity Policy Coalition senior policy officer Jane Martin said, “There’s plenty of issues but we’re very concerned that marketing is done across a lot of different platforms… It’s very cheap to be on these platforms.” Ms Martin added, “They collect your information in store or online. You register to join the kids club, which you can be a member of until you’re 12. You depart the kids club with an upsize card.” The matter has been submitted to the Senate Finance and Public Administration committee which looks at new draft privacy laws that protect children from direct mail promotion without parental consent.
Clinical psychologist Rita Princi, from the Australian Council on Children and the Media, said they were concerned some companies were trying to by-pass parents. “It’s almost using a weakness to generate business,” she said.
The submission reads Hungry Jacks and Taco Bill have been offering children free meals for their birthdays, free ice cream vouchers and other offers such as a recent Hungry Jacks promotion offering AFL finger puppets. It says, “Children’s susceptibility to commercial influence means that use of their personal information for direct marketing unfairly manipulates them, and is likely to harm them in other ways… For example, direct marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children may influence them to consume unhealthy diets, and contribute to them becoming overweight or obese.”
Hungry Jacks and Taco Bill Mexican Restaurants did not respond to requests for a comment on the submission. The Federal Government has so far rejected the push to give children protection from direct mail under privacy laws and said children are protected from electronic direct marketing by spam laws.
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