Polish regulator checked 2,000 ads with children and found 50 problem spots

Poland’s broadcasting regulator has published a report on how advertising treats children. The KRRiT checked 2,000 commercials that Polish television stations aired more than 23,000 times in 2024 and 2025. Almost all of them followed the rules the advertising industry set for itself. About 50 spots raised objections.

Polish regulator checked 2,000 ads shown in 2024 and 2025

The study covered commercials that show children or speak to them. The regulator compared each one with the Charter for the Protection of Children in Advertising, a set of rules the industry wrote itself. Around 98 percent of the spots matched the rules. Roughly two and a half percent did not. The regulator found no serious cases: no violence, no alcohol promotion and no encouragement of harmful habits.

Sweets and loans account for most of the flagged spots

Food advertising produced the largest group of objections, 33 in all, mostly for sweets. Financial products came second with ten cases, mainly bank accounts and loans. Single cases turned up in medicines, cleaning products, jewellery and building materials. The regulator also noted a wider habit: children appear more and more often in advertising for products meant for adults, such as cars, jewellery and home improvement, because a child on screen makes a brand feel family friendly.

A child at the wheel was among the scenes that drew objections

Three patterns came up most often. Children were shown with knowledge or skills that no child has, for example judging a product like an expert. Children appeared in spots that had nothing to do with the product. And some scenes put a child in a situation that would be dangerous in real life, including one where a child seemed to be driving. In loan advertising the regulator objected to showing borrowed money as a quick way to give a child what it wants.

Poland’s charter for children in advertising has run since September 2019

The charter was added to the Polish Advertising Ethics Code in September 2019. It covers commercial messages aimed at children under twelve. Agnieszka Glapiak, who chairs the KRRiT, said the findings show that most of the market keeps to the standards and that self-regulation can work. The report sits alongside the regulator’s routine monitoring, which in the first half of 2026 covered nearly 400 programmes and led to 21 proceedings, according to Wirtualne Media.

For marketers the practical point is narrow but useful. A brief that puts a child in an adult product’s advertisement is the moment to check the charter, because that is where most of the objections came from. Rules for children online are tightening in parallel: Instagram has started to limit the reach of AI profiles that do not label themselves, and Australia is pressing platforms on how they moderate.