Madam, - Advertisers, including food and drink manufacturers, believe that the restrictions included in the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland's code on advertising to children will lead to a loss of revenue for the companies for which they work (The Irish Times, May 24th).
However, the concern of the vast majority of parents or guardians is that advertising of children's goods and services should be aimed at them rather than at children directly, for the pester power of children for particular goods and services has been the cause of many problems. Given that the BCI is not going to place a total ban on advertising to children, restrictions on such advertising are necessary.
In our submission to the BCI's draft code (phase three of the consultation process) we broadly agreed with the rules under 13 of the 14 sections. We had difficulty with section 1, on social values.
This states: "Children's advertising shall reflect a range of values that are consistent with the moral and ethical standards and diversity of contemporary Irish society."
We hope this statement would not be taken by advertisers to mean that their advertisements need merely conform to, or reflect the changes in, the nature of Irish society. There are fundamental values that do not change from one period to another and are not of a subjective nature, such as the rights of parents, the rights of the family or the right to life, which are enshrined in Bunreacht na hÉireann. - Yours, etc.,
IVO O'SULLIVAN, PhD., Chairperson, Family and Media Association, Blackrock, Co Dublin.