Jamie Oliver has called on parents to join him in saying they’ve had enough of junk food adverts aimed at children.
The celebrity chef is using the #AdEnough hashtag to share his campaign on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. He is calling for the government to introduce a 9pm watershed on junk food advertising on TV, and to restrict what ads kids see online, in the street and on public transport.
“Guys, we urgently need the government to act,” he wrote about his campaign. “And it’s really simple for you to help.” HE asked people to show their support by posting an image of themselves hiding their eyes on social media, to show that the only ad-blocker we’ve currently got is covering our eyes.
Oliver said the joint support would be a “powerful signal” to the government that people have had enough. “I really believe we can get this over the line,” he said. “We’ve already got some amazing support in government, and from big names in the sport, health and food worlds. This could be a really key moment in our fight against childhood obesity, and I’d love you to be a part of it.”
The chef got three of his kids involved in the campaign.
Presenter and mum Fearne Cotton was an early supporter of the campaign. She posted a photo of herself covering her eyes with the caption “I’ve #AdEnough of kids being bombarded with junk food ads. It’s a fact that the more junk food ads young people see, the more junk food they eat. We need the government to act.”
Giovanna Fletcher and Tom Fletcher also followed suit.
Other celebrities getting involved included Kate Thornton, Richard Branson and Claudia Schiffer.
Other parents have also got involved in the campaign, sharing photos of themselves and their kids with their hands in front of their faces.
Oliver has long campaigned against junk food advertising and products with high sugar content in a bid to tackle child obesity in the UK. In a blog on HuffPost UK in January 2018, he argued that the government needed to take action against the energy drinks industry.
“Parents and teachers can’t change this alone ,” he wrote. “Kids have these drinks on the school bus or the walk home. I don’t blame them when they can cost as little as 25p - cheaper than water. The energy drinks industry is booming like never before, and the number of these products in our kids’ environment is only going to increase unless something is done.”
To find out more about the #AdEnough campaign, click here.