previous ministers

tessa jowell

Speech to ISBA Conference

To begin at the beginning. Your industry is a huge part of the British economy – worth over £16.7 billion in 2002.

It is rightly recognised as a world centre of advertising excellence – both in terms of quality and the observance of high standards of integrity.

In an era of rapid technological change advertising is often found at the cutting edge. Particularly in developing - and responding to - new technology.

We live in a world where the internet hosts a battle of the brands that uses viral and sub viral marketing.

But advertisers aren't just very clever. Advertising revenue is the lifeblood for much of commercial public sector broadcasting.

So a healthy, robust broadcast advertising industry is necessary for commercial PSBs to sustain their contribution to the considerable diversity in and quality of programming that we see in the UK - not least in children's television, where ITV alone is investing £38 million this year, with £30 million of that going to original UK production, and that comes largely from the independent production sector.

Your industry is always in the news. But this last year, and the year to come, will see you right at the centre of the stage.

That's because some of the issues you face are central to the future of public policy. They deal with the questions at its very heart:

What role should Government have in promoting a lifestyle?

What responsibility does the citizen have to take informed choices; to make their own weather?

And how should business operate in this environment? How can business be socially responsible but still competitive?

If there were easy answers to these questions, we'd be depriving half the commentators and columnists in the country of an occupation. In truth, there can be no more complex set of issues for us to face.

And the danger is that one side or another opts for the easy, populist, solution. What we need is the basis for a new concordat between Government and the industry.

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You won't be surprised to hear that I am primarily talking here about the issue of obesity and healthy eating. And I want to come back to this after making some more general comments about the issues facing us both.

As I said just now, the pace of technological change is having major impact on all the creative communication industries – and advertising is no different in that respect.

New technologies provide a challenge to industry - both in relation to the developing excellence within the industry and in acting responsibly to advertising in new niche markets.

Take a few examples:-

We are moving towards digital switchover – we now have over 50% coverage in the UK. We are also seeing the increased use of Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) – how can industry embrace this change?

Whilst some advertisers have expressed concern that the move to digital technology has the potential to fragment viewers and so to eat into advertising revenues – others see it as an opportunity for advertisers to exploit new niche markets and use media other than television.

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It would seem that companies are diversifying expenditure, choosing instead to mix traditional media areas of TV, radio and magazines with increasing use of direct mail and the internet. Indeed, most of the current growth is attributed to the increased use of direct mail and the internet by companies.

Convergence has also provided a wide range of new opportunities for advertisers – such as advertising on mobile phones and with the development of location services – ads beamed to your phone offering you 10% off your Starbucks decaffeinated latte if you come into the shop opposite right now.

These changes are already having a significant impact on advertisers – and they will need to meet the challenge of commercial opportunity and the chance for innovation alongside the need to provide services in an adequately regulated environment.

The Communications Act sets out a framework for us to create the most dynamic and competitive communications industry in the world. And one of the key aspects of this framework is to reduce the regulatory burden on industry.

Removing unnecessary regulation stimulates innovation, increases investment and helps deliver better services for consumers.

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But our aim is to minimise and simplify regulation, not remove it entirely. And in this case as in the case of, say, media ownership or gambling or the leisure industry, we have to balance our duty to citizen and the protection of the public interest with the need not to strangle innovation with red tape.

As you know Ofcom has recently consulted on proposals for the co-regulation of broadcast advertising.

Ofcom is currently analysing the responses to that consultation and will be preparing a detailed submission on proposals for the future regulation of broadcast advertising, which will soon be considered by the Ofcom Board.

I think it is clearly recognised that the advertising industry has a successful record of self-regulation – a prime example being the work of the Advertising Standards Authority.

So I welcome the very positive commitment made by the ASA and the advertising industry to the development of an effective co-regulatory system for broadcast advertising.

But clearly Ofcom will need to ensure that any move to a co-regulatory system for broadcast advertising is robust enough to discharge its statutory duties.

Any new co-regulatory body will be responsible for drawing up, reviewing and enforcing Codes and setting standards for the presentation and content of broadcast advertisements.

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So the industry has to show that it can keep its own house in order. That it can respond appropriately to shifts in public opinion and also developments in public policy.

The key to acceptable regulation in this area of advertising is for industry to have the flexibility to respond and to adapt to these changes.

And the new focus on media literacy is one of those changes.

A discerning and sceptical audience is vital for the quality of our public life. The great prize is a nation with the tools to decode for themselves how the media and how advertisers work. So they can decide for themselves what to believe, what to buy, what to know.

Advertisers already know this and that's why many companies support Media Smart, which is aimed at helping children deal with the complex messages of advertising in a critical way.

I take the need for media literacy very seriously - and the improvement of media education, particularly in children, will play an important role in helping children understand the way the media world works and their relationship with it.

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But even more than this - media literacy is also about developing the skills and understanding to produce content, to be able to set up websites, to be able to make films – skills that advertisers will be looking for in their future employees.

The greater prize is a public of all ages who have the tools to decode for themselves how the media and how advertisers work. So they can decide for themselves what to believe, what to buy, what to know.

However, initiatives such as Media Smart are still in their infancy and I believe that it must be seen as a floor not a ceiling, for the future. There must be more done by us, by Ofcom and by the industry more generally.

And a media literate public will be a public able to make more informed choices about their lives.

And we know what happens when they don't:

Obesity levels in England have tripled in the past two decades;
One in five men and nearly one in four women are now obese;
A study by the HSE in 2002 found that over 16% of males and 16% of females aged 2-15 were obese;

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The DoH report that one in seven 15 year olds and one in twelve six year olds is obese – deeply disturbing figures.

So what's the solution?

Anyone who thinks the solution is easy simply doesn't understand the complexity of the problem.

And I am concerned that too often the public debate lurches from one extreme to another. Precisely the reason that today John Reid is launching a public consultation on the big public health questions. Why the Labour Party launched the Big Conversation to engage people up and down the country in a discussion about the challenges facing us as a nation, society and individuals over the next 10 to 20 years.

But the problem is the lurches in the debate:

from non-intervention to calls for complete bans on certain types of advertising;
from those who say that this is not a matter for Government and a matter of individual choice to those who place the blame squarely on the shoulders of 'so called' irresponsible advertisers;
From complaints about taking immediate action on changing people's diets to those who believe that increasing government spending on improving activity is the only answer.

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There are a lot of players and a lot of work is underway on the subject. I do believe that firm action is sometimes necessary. The classic example is tobacco. We banned tobacco advertising for a specific reason: it is a uniquely dangerous substance responsible for millions of deaths in recent years. That was the right decision to take for this reason.

But children's food, for example, is quite a different animal. What works in one area won't necessarily work in another. And many of those who shout the loudest for an advertising ban also demand high quality children's programming – which is of course largely paid for by food advertising. So there are no quick wins here, and no easy answers. The important thing is that we do justice to this debate by recognising its complexity.

As you know, given the evidence emerging in the current debate I have written to OFCOM asking them to respond to the outcomes of the current work on food promotion and obesity and to examine the adequacy of the Advertising Code.

I look forward to the outcome of their work.

For our part, Government is on the case.

Producing a national physical activity strategy for England. And a White Paper on Public Health due in the Summer.

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Investing more than £450 million over the next three years in order to promote PE and sport in schools across England.

Trebling the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport both within and beyond the curriculum. We will reach 75% by 2006.

So obesity and healthy living will stay on the public's agenda for some time to come.

But in the meantime, you in the industry have an opportunity. To step forward and be seen as a constructive player in this debate. I know that you have already done a great deal. But you can't afford to stand still. Because the danger is that the argument is won by default by those who call for an outright advertising ban. And that is an intervention about which, as you know, I remain sceptical because the great risk is to presume there is a single magic bullet which will be the cure for obesity.

So this is your challenge. Prove again that advertising need not be an adversary of those who want a healthier Britain. That you are their friend.

How to do it? Do it by using your creativity. Your famous creativity, to put your products you market in a context of healthy eating. And living. Find more and more ingenious ways to help people find a balance. It's pointless to tell children that eating chocolate is bad. It's eating only chocolate that's the problem.

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I'm not talking about tombstone warnings on crisp packets. I mean positive messages to give the context in entertaining, memorable ways.

If you engage with this, I absolutely promise you that you will be more effective in changing public minds and public behaviour than Government ministers ever could be.

I know you can do it. You're the people who made condoms sexy in the 80's and 90's. Who have revolutionised the public taste for new foods from every part of the world.

You can make more of a difference. You can make more difference than all the well meaning, the best meaning Government campaigns put together.

So don't think of it as a burden. Think of it as new creative brief. One that can hugely benefit the public and help your industry.

Summer of Sport

It's never too early to start.

This year the summer of 2004 will provide us with an ideal opportunity to promote the importance of healthier lifestyles. We are all looking forward to a festival of sport culminating in the European Football championships and Olympic Games in Athens.

I think that it is vital that industry take this opportunity to get involved.

This seems like an excellent way to build on the public interest and excitement that will be generated this summer as our own Olympic bid gathers momentum.

So there's the brief. That is the message. Keep your industry and the public healthy. Use every weapon in your arsenal, every creative muscle. Everything in Moderation – that's the message. Good luck and make it a slogan.

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