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New UK rules restricting ads for 'less healthy' food and drink have been in place since January. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has now published its first decisions under the new regime — so here's a quick, practical run-through of what they tell us.
The decisions in brief
The rulings cover paid-for online ads by Iceland, Lidl, German Doner Kebab and online travel agency On The Beach. All were sparked by complaints from consumers and – specifically for Iceland - campaign group Bite Back.
What's the origin?
Much of the ASA's work now starts with its AI-led Active Ad Monitoring service, which scans digital ads, although that didn't directly drive the latest slew of decisions. The bigger point is that this category and niche area of advertising and promotion is firmly on the radar — whether through monitoring, complaints, or both.
Bite Back is a youth-led campaign group focused on healthier school food and tighter limits on food advertising. It has used the ASA complaints process before and actively pushes for stronger rules — so more challenges from them and other public health campaigners are likely.
Nutrient profiling is a critical starting point
The cleanest route to compliance is being able to show a product isn't a 'less healthy' food, so the restriction doesn't bite — either because it isn't high in fat, salt or sugar under the Government nutrient profiling model, or because it doesn't sit in one of the regulated 'less healthy food' categories. German Doner Kebab could evidence this for the products shown in its advertising. As a result, the ASA didn't uphold the complaint.
On the hook for your supply chain partners
Iceland's ad was created and served via an ad network, while Lidl's was made by an influencer. Both included 'less healthy' foods in paid-for online placements, so both breached the new ban on this type of advertising. The ASA treated the brands as responsible for ads placed on their behalf.
It's worth noting the contrast with German Doner Kebab - also an influencer case. Good upfront planning, clear do's, don'ts and practical guidelines helped land compliant content. The message is simply, brief properly, train where needed, and have a monitoring process in place.
"Incidental" really does mean incidental
The ASA is still working out where it draws the line on foods that show up briefly or in the background. In the Lidl and German Doner Kebab cases, some items included in the background were disregarded by the ASA because viewers wouldn't reasonably think the ad was for those products. But it's a fine line - linger on it, describe it, show it being eaten, or otherwise make it a focus, and it's much more likely to be in scope.
It's not just food brands
The On The Beach decision is a useful reminder that non-food advertisers can still be caught if their ads feature less healthy foods. Here, the ASA was pragmatic: a generic doughnut on an airport lounge buffet didn't bring the ad into scope because you couldn't credibly say the ad was for the doughnut (as opposed to the lounge service more generally). Helpful — but it's not a blanket exemption.
What happens now?
We should expect more decisions to come down the pipeline fairly quickly as the ASA builds a body of precedent, particularly given campaigners - many of whom want even tougher rules – will be keeping up the pressure. Practically, it's safest to assume these are the first of many, and to bake the "less healthy food" checks into sign-off for any digital campaign that shows food or drink.
Read the original article on GowlingWLG.com
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