Editorial: Ofcom can never be independent on TV ads

This war of words is nothing new as campaigners have regularlycriticised the media watchdog's handling of the issue. For instance,when the regulator unveiled its proposals in March to either ban orrestrict adverts for unhealthy food during the times of the day whenchildren were likely to be watching TV, it immediately walked intocontroversy due to its unwillingness to contemplate a total ban on suchadverts before the 9pm watershed.

Ofcom was upfront about its reticence, which it said was due to thedisproportionate costs of such a move to broadcasters. Unsurprisingly,health and children's organisations were equally frank in theirresponse, with 50 national organisations calling for a judicial reviewof Ofcom's decision. The final result of such pressure saw Ofcomcapitulating, by agreeing to add the pre-watershed ban as an option toits consultation (Children Now, 28 June-4 July).