Ads promote `healthy options'

The Irish experience of advertising in schools is as far from the American one as Dublin, Ireland, is from Dublin, California. School buses are more likely to be a dull yellow than Sprite green or Barbie pink. There's no dedicated TV channel with compulsory ad viewing aimed at schools, and Coke in Education days are unlikely to become the norm.

However, for at least the past year, advertising has been visible in some schools. Irish company Ad Infinitum places 60-inch by 40-inch poster sites in 80 of the Republic's 800 second-level schools. So far, the posters have campaigned against smoking, on behalf of the Health Promotion Unit, as well as promoting Ribena ("the healthy option fruit drink") and publicising a careers product.

The advertiser pays Ad Infinitum, and in turn, Ad Infinitum pays the schools for the use of their wall space.

The man behind the company, Gareth Lloyd, says he only places "socially responsible" advertising. Of course, the phrase "socially responsible" means different things to different people. For Lloyd, it seems to mean steering clear of the commercial "biggies" such as Coke, Nike and McDonald's, and taking ads that claim to promote healthy or responsible choices.

The biggest safeguard offered by Ad Infinitum to schools is that the principal has the power of veto over each ad. He or she can just say no.

It seems school principals who have signed up to the service are happy with it so far. The under-funding of schools makes any additional income welcome. The posters are placed "internally, in nice locations throughout the school building, in areas such as assembly/social areas, canteens, students entrances (not the main one), IT corridor, career corridor, stairwells and sports halls. At no time will a panel be located in the environs of a classroom or learning environment where a distraction may occur."

St Vincent's CBS, Glasnevin, Dublin, has posters in the corridor and lobby area. School principal Tim Hurley says they did a survey among students and found that not only did they notice the ads but they knew about the contents. However, he suspects this may simply be the fire-extinguisher effect: when extinguishers were first put in the school, they attracted a lot of attention and some horseplay. Within a few months, the novelty effect wore off and they simply became part of the school furniture.

A similar threshold may apply to the ads. Mr Hurley says that in an ideal world he wouldn't be putting ads in schools but he is happy with the power of veto Ad Infinitum offers.

In Collinstown Park Community School, Dublin, principal Brian Fleming says the money from Ad Infinitum is very useful in an area where fundraising or a voluntary contribution from parents is a difficult option. The money is used for extra-curricular activities.

Is it a win-win situation, as is claimed by Ad Infinitum? A first step inside the school door by advertisers? Or simply a sad reflection of the current unhealthy state of school finances?