Food Advertising Unit

This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.

The Food Advertising Unit is a food and advertising industry funded organisation dedicated to resisting demands to regulate advertising of fast foods. It was set up in 1995 under the auspices of the Advertising Association. According to the FAU it is:

The Food Advertising Unit (FAU) was set up in 1995 under the auspices of the Advertising Association, as a centre for information, communication and research on the issue of food and soft drink advertising to children.

Above all, the FAU aims to raise the quality of the debate surrounding advertising to children by providing pan-industry leadership and a forum for dialogue to inform industry awareness and best practice in food advertising and marketing communications.

FAU membership is composed of multi-national food companies, agencies and the media, offering a holistic representation of the food and soft drink advertising industry in the UK.

(:a coalition of food and soft drink advertisers, advertising agencies and the media (press, radio and television). This tripartite membership allows the FAU to represent the UK advertising industry holistically. The FAU helps to promote one voice across the food and soft drink advertising industry by co-ordinating the efforts of individual members and by working in partnership with other trade associations.)

Aims and Objectives

FAU maintain that: Food advertising and health is an important debate, in which the advertising industry can make a positive contribution in the interests of society. The FAU is supportive of efforts to address issues relating to diet, physical activity and health, and our members are committed to playing a positive role.

However, food marketing is not the fundamental driver of diet quality, or the overall health of society. Many factors are involved in the process of becoming overweight or obese and therefore the problem is one which demands a holistic rather than piecemeal approach.

The FAU can be part of the solution by:

• Promoting responsible implementation and adherence to the spirit and letter of the codes. • Promoting media literacy programmes, member CSR initiatives and educational campaigns such as Media Smart. • Commissioning new research to inform and advance the debate.

Affiliations

The FAU states that it works with a wide number of other organisations and trade associations, including:

• Advertising Association
• The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA)
• The Commercial Radio Companies Association
• Radio Advertising Bureau
• Periodical Publishers Association
• Newspaper Publishers Association
• Satellite and Cable Broadcasters Group
• Institute of Practitioners in Advertising
• MediaSmart
• National Parent Teacher Association (NCPTA)
• Raisingkids.co.uk

People

Staff

• Sue Eustace, Director of Public Affairs. Sue Eustace was appointed Director of Public Affairs at the Advertising Association in October 2006, with responsibility for the FAU. She joined the AA in 2003 as Head of Public Affairs, following several years working as a consultant in the TV sector. She previously spent 13 years working on UK and European public affairs at the ITV Network Centre.
• Cristina Domínguez, Public Affairs Executive. Cristina Domínguez was appointed Public Affairs Executive in April 2007. She is experienced in advertising issues, having joined the AA as Public Affairs Secretary in June 2004 and subsequently promoted to Policy Assistant for Public Affairs in September 2005, in which role she also designed and managed the Members Section of the AA website.

Contact details

7th Floor North, Artillery House, 11-19 Artillery Row, London SW1P 1RT.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7340 1100 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7222 1504