Live data from Hacker News

UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

france24.com

131–140 of 349 posts

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#131
post #5

Can we do gambling ads next? We banned tobacco ads and then seemingly forgot the lesson that it's actually bad to let advertisers shove addictive and self-destructive products in the publics face, including to former addicts at risk of relapse.

It's interesting that the UK has banned gambling ads online, but not on TV. Combined with the fact that they regulate cryptocurrencies as gambling, that's why you get no UK crypto ads online. For example, the PayPal UK front page doesn't even mention that you can buy crypto there.

Maybe this is blurring the line between online and TV, but TV streaming services definitely have gambling ads. A gambling ad literally just came on the Channel 4 player in front of me as I started typing this.

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#132

Help me understand. The UK government basically said that parents are not responsible enough to make dietary decisions for their children so the government needs to step in and do it for them? Does that not seem like an overreach? Its not like 4 year olds are driving to McDonald's by themselves and ordering burgers. The parents are the ones being targeted here.

Do you have children? They're targeted with ads everywhere. You can be a responsible parent but these things cause unnecessary stress. Quite frankly if the government wants to ban all advertising I would be thrilled.

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#134
post #5

Can we do gambling ads next? We banned tobacco ads and then seemingly forgot the lesson that it's actually bad to let advertisers shove addictive and self-destructive products in the publics face, including to former addicts at risk of relapse.

Considering Labour's connection to gambling companies [0] probably not. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jun/28/tory...

[flagged]

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#135
Is there a name for an ideology that says all social and economic problems can be solved through mass psychology? You could call it psychohistory perhaps, but there's got to be a newer term. Seems like it's the dominant ideology of a variety of technocrats.

Yes there are psychological aspects to governance but more and more it's becoming the only solution to all problems. Obesity is skyrocketing? It's the psychology. People don't like unlimited immigration? Get out the mass psychology. People perceive that inflation is out of control. Get out the mass psychology. Market is down. Employ mass psychology. People don't give a crap about a war that they have no stake in. Mass psychology. I guess propaganda works and it's very cheap, lol.

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#137

Help me understand. The UK government basically said that parents are not responsible enough to make dietary decisions for their children so the government needs to step in and do it for them? Does that not seem like an overreach? Its not like 4 year olds are driving to McDonald's by themselves and ordering burgers. The parents are the ones being targeted here.

They should keep reaching and ban the rest of the ads.

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny how you can buy British politicians for dirt cheap. In India or the US, it would take at least $100k-200k to get a single politician's attention at the bare minimum, while in the UK you can influence party positions for 25k quid.

I don't have enough experience about India to comment on that but in the US the amount of money it takes to influence a politician is quite low.

Don't you need to donate at least $100k to influence senators or influence party positions in the US? Sure, you could "buy" a politician for cheaper, but you're not guaranteeing they will toe your line.

India is ridiculously expensive - bribes often amount to 50 lakh rupees to 1 crore + rupees, which amounts to roughly $50k-100k per politician. Not to mention bribery at the lower rungs of the ladder where everyone from the politician's toilet janitor all the way to the politician's chief of staff will demand their pound of flesh, usually in the tune of tens of lakhs of rupees (~$10k).

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#139

Is there a name for an ideology that says all social and economic problems can be solved through mass psychology? You could call it psychohistory perhaps, but there's got to be a newer term. Seems like it's the dominant ideology of a variety of technocrats. Yes there are psychological aspects to governance but more and more it's becoming the only solution to all problems. Obesity is skyrocketing? It's the psychology.…

I think it’s traditionally called advertising.

Re: UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

#140

Help me understand. The UK government basically said that parents are not responsible enough to make dietary decisions for their children so the government needs to step in and do it for them? Does that not seem like an overreach? Its not like 4 year olds are driving to McDonald's by themselves and ordering burgers. The parents are the ones being targeted here.

That's a great way to frame the whole thing if you're a corporation trying to sell junk food I guess.

In reality, this law is only about advertising, specifically about making it slightly harder to target children with advertising for junk food in a country that already has a serious problem with obesity.

Post reply on HN