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After much debate, France's National Assembly has finally adopted what is known as article 57 of the law on public health, says the newspaper Le Figaro.

The article in question relates specifically to the advertising of food products but, as the heads of the French advertising agency association AACC tell the paper, rather than a step forward in protecting the public's health the law as approved is strongly disappointing.

'McDo' as it is known in France

  
AACC president Hervé Brossard tells Le Figaro that his association has been working in close collaboration with the food industry, nutritionists and legal experts for over a year, as well as maintaining contact with politicians with a view to making the law as applicable and effective as possible. The decrees now published, however, will make the 'healthy' messages that accompany advertising for certain food and drinks products ineffective and unlikely to alter the eating habits of the French.

Vice-president Christophe Lambert agrees that the law will prove counter-productive. "It's bad news for everyone", he says. "The information strips that go with the advertising campaigns will pollute the brands' messages without allowing the ads to communicate a clear and effective message in respect of health."

"We are aware of the seriousness of the problem", he continues. "Childhood obesity and the concerns about other areas of the public's health mean action has to be taken. Advertising can play an active role in combating this scourge by dealing directly with people's eating habits. But you have to respect the fundamental rules of communications. That will not be possible with these decrees when they are published next February or March.

One of four messages will have to appear in food adverts from that date, Lambert says, with advertisers and agencies able to choose between "Pour votre santé, mangez au moins cinq fruits et legumes chaque jour" ("For the sake of your health, eat at least five pieces of fruit or vegetables each day"), Pour votre santé, pratiquez une activité physique regulière" ("For the sake of your health, practice physical activity regularly"), "Pour votre santé, ne mangez pas trop de gras, pas trop sucré, pas trop salé ("For the sake of your health, don't eat too much fat or too much sweet or salty food") and "Pour votre santé, evitez de grignoter entre les repas" ("For the sake of your health, avoid eating snacks between meals").

Advertisers who do not wish to insert these messages will still have to pay a tax equivalent to 1.5% of their advertising spending to the national healthcare prevention and education body, Inpes, Le Figaro says.

"Not only must these phrases be used with equal weight across each campaig", Christophe Lambert continues, "they must also be so during the course of a single ad. That balance is going to be a difficult one to keep for advertisers and the media. In the case of television, for example, the helathcare message must be included in a strip covering at least 7% of the screen throughout the advert or on a dedicated 'billboard' shown at the end. Taking into account the additional cost that this billboard will give rise to, advertisers are likely to opt for the strip. On radio, the health message must be broadcast immediately after the ad ends. Press and the internet will be subjected to the same constraints. Only exhibitions, fairs and public relations will be able to escape the law".

Asked what the results of the first tests have been with advertising concepts presented in such a way, Hervé Brossard is critical. "On TV, it won't work", he says. "The tests show that the banners are ineffective. It is impossible to communicate two types of information in a single ad. In the end, these health messages are going to contribute to increasing the perceived presence of advertising. I'm talking about overload of the kind consumers have already complained about and rejected."

"The sad truth with this law, which is not going to please anybody", adds Christophe Lambert, "is the way it shows, once more, how politicians don't take business requirements into account in forming their policies. Already under pressure from laws governing retail pricing and facing increasing competition from 'hard discount' formats, food manufacturers are seeing one of their principal tools for promoting growth being 'amputated'. Let's not forget that advertising is one of their principal arms."

Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the Le Figaro website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the AACC.