Brands that make unhealthy foods will be able to get government bans on junk food ads if their ads don’t feature products that violate the rules.
From October 2025, foods high in fat or sugar cannot be advertised on television, or in paid online advertising, before 9pm.
But the restrictions in the new regulations, which are aimed at tackling childhood obesity, will only apply to products identifiable in advertising.
That means ads for fast food chains, for example, won’t face restrictions unless they include products like burgers or fries.
The new ban was introduced using powers in the Health and Social Care Act 2022 passed by Boris Johnson’s government, which focused on products.
Government figures show that one in five children in England are overweight or obese by the time they start primary school. By the time they leave, it becomes more than one in three.
Speaking when the new rules were published on Tuesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said obesity “deprives our children of the best possible start in life, leaves them with lifelong health problems, and the NHS costs billions”.
“This government is now taking action to target junk food advertising at children, both on TV and online,” he added.
Under the ban, advertisements will face restrictions if a product falls into any of the 13 categories and is also classified as “less healthy”. Government Scoring SystemAfter analyzing its nutritional content including salt, fat, sugar and protein.
Katherine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, an umbrella group for health campaigners, argued for brands to be included in the ban, saying firms would respond by making their products healthier. would like to see
“That would be the ideal thing, but they can achieve it just by showing the brand and it’s not clear what impact that will have, above and beyond what we’ve already achieved,” he added.
“We are very supportive. [the restrictions] It’s coming along as planned, but in the future I think we’ll want to see where the loopholes can be closed.”
Some food brands are already producing ads that don’t feature their products, both on TV and on social media, regardless of any restrictions.
Vic Banham, who runs TikTok marketing agency Antler Social, says some of this doesn’t even count as advertising.
“There’s a lot of advertising going on that doesn’t focus on the food itself, but they’re still getting their name out there in a smart way,” he said.
“I would describe it as organic content, as opposed to advertising as we know it. They have the opportunity to reach a large number of people of all ages and backgrounds”.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said the ban would cover “unhealthy food products that are high in sugar, fat or salt”.
“This advertising ban does not prevent brands from advertising, provided any of their products meet the stipulated conditions,” he added.