A/69/286 freedom of expression and that private media must not be put at a disadvantage compared to public media in such matters as access to means of dissemination and distribution of and access to news (see CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 41). 43. Some governments use advertising methods and agencies to convey public health messages and promote human rights. Some also use neuroscience and behavioural research in designing public policies to achieve positive change through prevention rather than prescription and sanctions. 19 These developments, called social marketing, are becoming a powerful worldwide trend and are promising in terms of their ability to effectively counter behaviours detrimental to, for example, public health, the environment or human rights, using the same means as companies seeking to sell products and services. Such techniques should be used with caution, however, taking into consideration individual freedom and democratic principles. IV. Impact of commercial advertising and marketing practices on the enjoyment of cultural rights A. Advertising, ways of life and cultural diversity 1. Impact on cultural diversity 44. As early as 1985, a UNESCO report indicated that by restructuring consumption habits, the advertising industry imposed exogenous, partly alien ways of life on people of developing countries. 20 In 2009, another UNESCO report affirmed that there could be no doubt that the development of transnational markets, linked to the rise of consumerism promoted by skilful advertising, was having a significant impact on local cultures, which were finding it difficult to compete in an increasingly global marketplace. 21 45. Advertising and marketing strategies have become more sophisticated and brands have developed their own identities. Using a combination of meanings, symbols and values and having unmatched outreach worldwide, they provide codified messages to people and have succeeded in becoming some of the reference points for people’s perceptions about themselves, others and the world in general. 46. Advertising campaigns usually rely on a few themes: happiness, youth, success, status, luxury, fashion and beauty, and mostly suggest that solutions to human problems are to be found in individual consumption and status symbols. Theories of consumer culture and cultivation reveal how the media and advertising can “cultivate” values such as materialism. 22 They stress that individual consumers do not make rational choices in the context of “free” markets. Instead, they operate within a sociocultural, economic and political framework that shapes and limits how __________________ 19 20 21 22 14-58963 Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness, Yale University Press, 2008. UNESCO, Mass Communications and the Advertising Industry, Paris, 1985. Ibid., Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue, Paris, 2009. Agnes Nairn, Christine Griffin and Patricia Gaya Wicks (2008), “Children’s use of brand symbolism: a consumer culture theory approach”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 42, No. 5/6. 11/26