A/69/286 they think, feel and act in the contemporary marketplace. 23 Advertising and marketing practices increasingly help to shape this framework. 47. The misrepresentation, underrepresentation and stereotyping in advertising o f certain social classes and groups is also of concern. Furthermore, global advertising campaigns promoting one single advertising message for all countries, according to observers, have an even more detrimental impact on cultural diversity, in cluding linguistic diversity. 24 2. Promotion of detrimental behaviours and attitudes 48. Many products, behaviours and attitudes promoted by commercial advertising are harmful to people’s health and social relationships, as well as to the environment. Examples most frequently mentioned include tobacco smoking, which advertising associates with the positive values of freedom and independence; the stereotyping of women; and the promotion of food with a high content of fat, sugar or salt. These are not the only examples, and some argue that, overall, it is the omnipresent and aggressive promotion of lifestyles based on intense consumption that is detrimental to human societies and the environment. 49. Despite some progress, advertising still commonly portrays women as housewives, mothers or sex symbols, with sometimes detrimental impacts on the health of young girls, such as anorexia. 25 Some States have introduced regulations on stereotypes and body image in advertising, for example requiring disclosing when images have been digitally modified (see the responses of Argentina, Denmark and Mexico). 50. Food advertising and promotion have contributed to shifting dietary patterns towards those closely linked with non-communicable diseases. By promoting mainly manufactured products with a high content of fat, sugar or salt, food and beverage companies contribute to altering previous eating and cooking practices that often were healthier and more ecologically sound. Both the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (A/HRC/26/31, paras. 22-25) and the Special Rapporteur on the right to food recently expressed their concerns on these matters. 26 Some measures have been adopted in particular within the framework of the World Health Organization (WHO). 27 For example, some States have prohibited companies from advertising junk food to children below a certain age, while others have prohibited the inclusion of toys with children’s food. 51. Safeguards need to be made more effective. For example, health messages at the bottom of food advertisements do not attract sufficient attention, as shown by tracking the eyes of people watching television. These would be mo re effective if their content, form and layout changed during the advertising, if they appeared on __________________ 23 24 25 26 27 12/26 Eric J. Arnould and Craig J. Thompson, “Consumer culture theory: twenty years of research”, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 31, No. 4, 2005. Noreen Janus, “Advertising and global culture”, Cultural Survival, 1983. Council of Europe resolution 1557 (2007). See WHO, “Global status report on non-communicable diseases”, 2010, chap. 2. WHO, “Set of recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children”, 2010. See also WHO, “International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes”, 1981. 14-58963