Something like "discouraging" advertisers from putting inappropriately sexual imagery on billboards near schools etc seems almost self-parodyingly ineffectual when you consider the wallpapering of our lives with such images. It is hard to imagine that sort of regulation achieving much, or to imagine an age-rating of videos wd achieve much (when you see the kind of cinema imagery that goes through on a 'U' or a 12). The most that can be hoped for is that the existence of the regulations helps to shape or generate a cultural shift, and therefore contributes indirectly to change.
Though bearing in mind that today also sees the opening of the new Playboy venues it does seem hard to be optimistic.
The lad's mags demotion seems good, though. I wonder if that will be law or self-regulated.