Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children (Australian Quick Service Restaurant Pledge)
| Description and Objective: | The Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry Initiative was developed by leading quick service restaurants in Australia in collaboration with the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA). The aim is to establish a common framework "to ensure that only food and beverages that represent healthier choices are advertised to children; and to help parents and guardians make informed product choices for their children." Each participant is required to make individual commitments to the pledge, which can be more restrictive than the core criteria in the pledge. In 2013, the Pledge became a sister initiative of the Australian Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative managed by the Australian Food and Grocery Council. |
| Number of Pledge Signatories: | 7 |
| Date Implemented: | August 2009, revised January 2014 |
| Definition of Children: | Under 14 years |
| Definition of Exempt Foods: | Set centrally by the core pledge as series of nutrient criteria assessing children's meals |
| Definition of Child-Targeted Media: | The theme, visuals and language used, indicate the marketing communication is directed primarily to children. In regards to television, this includes all P and C programs; all programs where more than 35% of the audience is children under 12 years; plus those G rated programs that meet the criteria above as being designed for children. |
| Communication Channels Covered: | TV, radio, print, 3rd-party and company-owned Internet, cinema, outdoor billboards and posters, emails, interactive games, cinema, schools, pre-schools and daycare centers. |
| Marketing Techniques Covered: | Any published or broadcasting technique, incuding advertising, product placement and interative games, but excluding labels or packaging for products, public relations communications (corporate or consumer) or in-store point of sale material. Signatories must also not give away food and/or beverage products or vouchers to children as awards or prizes at children's sporting events unless those products meet the nutrition criteria. |
| Website: | http://www.afgc.org.au/our-expertise/industry-codes/advertis ing-to-children/ |
Company Commitments
Click on the blue highlighted company names to access their pledge commitments.
| Name | Child-Targeted Media: Audience Definition |
Exempt Foods | Communications Channels/Marketing Techniques |
| Hungry Jack's | Specifically advertised to children | Exempt Foods | Same as core pledge; Hungry Jack's is a joint venture with Burger King in Australia |
| KFC | Same as core pledge | Exempt Foods | Same as core pledge. |
| McDonald's | Same as core pledge | Exempt Foods | Same as core pledge |
| Pizza Hut | Same as core pledge | Exempt Foods | Same as core pledge |
| Quick Group (now called Orporto) | Same as core pledge | Exempt Foods | Same as core pledge; QSRH is a joint venture with Chicken Treat, Oporto, and Red Rooster in Australia |
