Taking a responsible approach ahead of the incoming food advertising restrictions
Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive
| Advertising Association
A major change in food and drink advertising regulation is coming into force from 1 October. As part of the Government’s anti-obesity strategy, and to encourage product reformulation, advertising restrictions will apply across TV and the internet for adverts showing identifiable food and drink products that are defined as ‘less healthy’.
The Advertising Association and fellow trade bodies have signed an Industry Agreement with the Government, under which advertisers have committed to comply with restrictions on less healthy food (LHF) products from 1 October, before the rules legally come into force on 5 January.
What restrictions have the Government set out?
The incoming restrictions affect both online and TV channels. Ads for identifiable LHF products should not be shown before the watershed on Ofcom-licensed TV and Ofcom-regulated on-demand services, or as paid-for online advertisements at any time. This extends to social media content, including influencer marketing.
The Government has set out clear rules about which products are in and out of scope based on high fat, salt, sugar (HFSS) products that the Government believe are most likely to appeal to children.
The restrictions will apply to products that have a nutrient profile score that defines them as HFSS and that fall under one of the 13 categories of product set out by the Government. This means that some products – like olive oil or butter – will not be affected by the new rules but will have to adhere to the existing HFSS restrictions written in the advertising rules overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Many companies have invested heavily in creating new, healthier products or creating healthier variants of their existing products. These products will still be allowed to be advertised because they are not HFSS. Companies will also be able to promote their brands, in part to help promote these healthy variants.
It is worth noting that the evidence for these restrictions having any meaningful impact on the nation’s health is extremely weak, while it could have financial implications for public service and commercial media across TV and online. We support the Government’s determination to address health harms, but believe that positive engagement with the power of healthy lifestyle advertising would deliver much greater benefits – both for the nation’s health and for economic growth.
How has the advertising industry been preparing for 1 October?
The AA and trade bodies including IAB UK, the IPA and ISBA have published resources and guidance on their websites, social media channels and produced a proactive industry media campaign to reach the hundreds of thousands of people working on ads for the important festive advertising quarter.
As an example, the AA has built a hub with resources such as a quick-start one-pager, an industry guide and a training video as well as multiple webinars and live Q&As to help advertisers understand what’s coming down the track.
The resources are designed to guide advertising professionals, including brands, creatives, planning agencies, media owner sales teams, influencer marketing agencies and more on how to adhere to the rules when creating food and drink ads from 1 October. While the industry’s regulator, the ASA, is working hard to create guidance based on the law for 5 January 2026, in the meantime, trade bodies have stepped up during this voluntary period and clearance body, Clearcast, has agreed to clear TV adverts before they go live.
Encouraging reformulation
While the advertising restrictions have seen a long-debated journey through the Commons and Lords, it’s worth reminding ourselves of the reason the regulation was passed and why it is important that brand advertising is allowed to continue.
The rules were passed to encourage reformulation of High Fat Salt Sugar (HFFS) products. We will continue to see healthier, reformulated products on screens because companies have invested in changing their recipes, meaning their offering does not include products which are classed as LHF. Many companies that have traditionally been associated with HFSS foods now offer wide ranges of healthy and reformulated products.
Advertising’s contribution
The final quarter of the year is traditionally the busiest for UK advertising, with cultural moments from Halloween and Diwali to Christmas driving demand. Festive advertising is a huge driver of economic growth – supporting small family-run businesses to large retailers – as well as the myriad industries funded by advertising, from TV programming to news and sport. In 2024, advertising and marketing contributed £108.6 billion in GVA to the UK economy – around 4% of total UK GVA – and the industry directly employed 625,000 people, with 1.7m jobs supported more widely.
Given this contribution, a practical approach to regulation is critical. This year, the industry will adapt to the new restrictions, producing brilliant creative campaigns which respect the agreement made with Government, while continuing to support economic growth.
