Australian food ads going on diet

Australian marketers are putting junk food ads on a diet, shedding celebrity spokespeople and removing toys from kids' meals.

Officials with the food and marketing industries are drawing up a new marketing code that could make Australia the first western nation to adopt such a measure, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The code is a response to researching indicating a growing obesity problem among children that experts blame on surgery and fatty foods.

The code bans ad wording that urges children to pester their parents into buying certain foods and beverages. It also bans the use of animated characters and celebrities in advertising as well as promotional toys or services.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International