Yes, really. The twists and turns regarding the introduction of new rules about advertising "less healthy" foods continue. Never a dull moment in this space.
You may remember that on 7 April, Parliamentary Under-Secretary Ashley Dalton made a statement to the House of Commons saying that the UK government's intention was that brand advertising fell outwith the scope of the restrictions and that businesses would still have opportunities to promote their brands, as long as their adverts do not identify a specific less healthy product.
CAP and BCAP's implementation guidance raised a lot of questions about the issue of brand advertising. The government says that it is aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the restrictions' coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and are concerned about how these adverts will be affected by the ASA's approach to implementation.
As a result, it has said that it wants to support economic growth and ensure that industry has confidence to invest in advertising but, at the same time, protect children from advertising of less healthy products.
Consequently, the government is going to make and lay a Statutory Instrument to explicitly exempt 'brand advertising' from the restrictions. The new regulation will provide legal clarification on this aspect of the existing policy, as it was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill. This aims to enable the regulators to deliver clear implementation guidance and mean that industry can prepare advertising campaigns with confidence.
To allow time to consult on the draft regulation, the government is amending the formal date these restrictions come into force to 5 January 2026 instead of 1 October 2025. However, in agreement with the government, advertisers and broadcasters, with the support of online platforms and publishers, have committed to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025.
This means that, from 1 October 2025, and in line with government's policy intentions, the government would expect adverts for specific identifiable less healthy products not to be shown on TV between 5:30am and 9pm or at any time online, and there will be legal clarification on brand advertising before the restrictions come into force legally on 5 January 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval.
The Advertising Association has commented that this simply clarifies what has always been the intended policy behind the new restrictions: that companies will be able to advertise their brands provided the ads do not identify a specific less healthy food product. Until now, there has been confusion over this point. The government's decision to write it into law provides much-needed clarity and certainty for businesses across the food, retail, and hospitality sectors.
In effect, advertisers will be expected to follow the rules from October as planned, but they will have comfort that brand advertising will be permitted, although the devil will be in the detail and it will be of interest to see how the government actually defines brand advertising. Look out for the draft regulation.
" This is a successful resolution that enables us to fulfil our Manifesto commitment to implement this long-awaited policy while supporting businesses. The restrictions will help protect children from the harms of junk food advertising and help meet our ambition of raising the healthiest generation of children ever. "
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
