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Fast food companies will be able to bypass the UK’s government junk food advertising ban if their adverts do not feature unhealthy products that breach the regulations. The new advertising ban shall prevent foods high in fat or sugar from being advertised before 9:00 pm on TV and in paid online advertising, starting from October 2025. However, the new restrictions shall only be applicable to the singular products identifiable in the advertising, meaning fast-food chains with advertisements not featuring burgers or fries, for example, won’t face limitations.
The new ban has been implemented under the Health and Social Care Act 2022, and the focus is primarily on products. Government data implies that over one in five children in England are overweight or obese by the time they begin primary school, a figure that climbs to more than one in three by the time they complete their primary school curriculum. Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated that this action is the government’s first step in ending the targeting of junk food ads at children. Obesity “robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS billions,” he added.
According to an analysis of its nutrients, including salt, fat, sugar, and protein, adverts shall be restricted if a product falls into one of 13 categories and is classified as “less healthy” on a government scoring system. Though, Katharine Jenner, the director of the Obesity Health Alliance, the umbrella organisation for health campaigners, argued for brands to be subject to the ban and opined she would like to see firms respond by making their products healthier.
Some food and drink firms are already generating content that doesn’t advertise their products irrespective of any regulations. They’re creating organic content and getting their name out there, which according to Vic Banham, who runs TikTok marketing agency Antler Social, should not even be considered advertising. A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care revealed that the advertising ban will apply to “unhealthy food products that are found to be excessively high in sugar, fat, or salt”; they added that “this advertising ban does not restrict brands from advertising, provided any products they feature meet the conditions set.
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