Advertising Standards Board deem ‘Fanta Crew’ characters target young children. Under self-regulation, junk food may not be advertised directly to under 12s

A TV commercial and an iPhone app for the soft drink Fanta has been pulled after the Advertising Standards Board deemed its cartoon-style “Fanta Crew” characters were directed at children as young as nine.

Under the self-regulation of advertising rules, junk food may not be advertised directly to children under 12. One 450ml bottle of Fanta has about 14 teaspoons of sugar.

When 25% of Australian children are overweight or obese, it is unethical to promote high sugar products this way.

Related: Taxing sugary drinks would help stem childhood obesity, say health groups