Isba, the Ad Association and the IAB UK are all pushing back on the latest amendments, which would prohibit brand and product marketing on TV.
Legislation around advertising less healthy foods is planned to come into force in October 2025
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has proposed an amendment to the government-mandated ad ban on less healthy food (LHF) products). If this latest update to the regulation is approved, companies selling less healthy food and drinks will no longer be able to advertise at all on UK television between 5:30am and 9pm.
The regulator, through its Cap codes, previously said brand advertising would be excluded and only product ads would be banned. After further consultation and legal advice, however, it has decided to overturn the exemption. The legislation is planned to come into force in October 2025 and will be jointly implemented by Ofcom and the ASA.
Advertisement
Trade bodies that had advocated for the exclusion of brand marketing to be written into law and that were assured that it would be unnecessary to do so have expressed their anger at the news.
Rob Newman, Isba’s director of public affairs, said: “When MPs were debating the Health and Care Bill, which brought in the LHF changes in the last parliament, we consistently argued that the exemption for brand advertising should be written into the legislation, not least to avoid problems of this kind. Ministers at the time told parliament that this was unnecessary, but it has proven to be essential.”
Trade body leaders have told The Drum that the exclusion of brand advertising has consistently been backed by successive governments, both Conservative and Labour, so they are now left dumbfounded by the regulator’s U-turn. “The previous Conservative administration and the current Labour government have been crystal clear that the focus of the ‘less healthy’ food and drink restrictions is identifiable products and that brands should be able to continue to advertise,” Newman said.
In response to the news, the Advertising Association’s (AA) chief executive officer, Stephen Woodford, is now calling on the government to intervene. “The government must act swiftly to resolve this and provide the industry with the certainty it needs to meet the deadline for implementing the new restrictions,” Woodford said. He reiterated the AA’s line on less healthy food and drink policy: “The ability for companies to advertise is crucial for growth and competition as well enabling the product reformulation that is at the heart of the government’s anti-obesity policy agenda.”
The updated guidance is still under review with the regulator planning another industry consultation to finalize the legislation. However, the ASA is already advising advertisers that their ads, even if they don’t explicitly refer to or feature any LHF products, may still be restricted under the law. Advertisers should begin to consider whether both the content of their ads and the media placement would meet these proposed rules.
The IAB UK’s head of policy and regulatory affairs, Christie Dennehy-Neil, has called for urgent clarity to help advertisers better prepare. “With the online ad ban for less healthy food and drink coming into force this year, the industry needs urgent clarity about how the ban will work in practice.” This unexpected change in policy so near to the impending ban implication date means that the ASA and Cap are now “faced with the challenging task of interpreting laws that are poorly drafted to give proper effect to the policy intention,” said Dennehy-Neil.
The AA, Isba and the IAB UK have each vowed to continue advocating for brand marketing to be excluded from the ad ban and to ensure the legislation is fit for purpose.
Advertisement