Junk Food Ad Crackdown Begins

As of 1 October 2025, brands will no longer be permitted to advertise “less healthy” food and drink before 9 pm on TV or online to UK audiences. That rule isn’t new, it’s been legislated since the Health & Care Act 2022, but its countdown has finally begun in earnest.

What changed recently is twofold: a voluntary agreement by advertisers to comply early starting October 2025, and a further delay to formal legislation to January 2026 to write in brand‑only ad exemptions. (Brands had publicly committed to abide by the new rules regardless.)

The ad bonanza before the clampdown

Over the first quarter of 2024, junk‑food advertisers spent an extra £420 million, up 26% from the previous year, just before regulators intervened. That spike coincided with shoppers buying an extra 45 million packs of chocolate, crisps or cakes. Brands were effectively front‑loading campaigns to beat the restrictions.

What marketers need to know

This is not just about timing. It demands a reframe of how food brands think about messaging, creativity, and trust:

• Product advertising is blocked, brand messaging may survive: The government clarified that “pure brand advertising” not showing HFSS products remains permitted—if brand-only ad guidance is clear. (turn0search3, turn0search4)

• Outdoor, audio and social influencer content are outside this scope—for now: These channels fall outside Ofcom’s remit and are not subject to the same time‑based restrictions.

  
  

Why this matters beyond obesity policy

A recent controlled study found that exposure to just five minutes of junk food marketing led to children consuming 130 additional calories per day, even when the snacks were unbranded. One more media minute, one more bite.

This reinforces the reasoning behind the ban: regulated exposure matters. It is not moralizing—it is simply about aligning marketing with public health outcomes. And as trust and regulation increase, so must creativity and strategic clarity.

Marketing implications: what’s changing in Kantar’s grid

1. Creativity shifts from product to purpose

If you can’t show the product, how does the brand stay visible? "Brand-only" campaign planning is now mandatory, demanding narrative depth—and legal clarity. Unclear guidance makes planning for festive and golden-quarter moments a strategic headache for FMCG brands.

2. The festive ad cycle is under threat

Marks & Spencer’s chair calls the ban a potential end to traditional Christmas ads—think mince pies and chocolate adverts falling foul of the new legal grid.

3. Influence shifts online—but loopholes abound

Ads on YouTube, podcasts and social platforms remain permitted if not paid and not product-focused. This creates a dilemma for regulators—and an opportunity for brand‑led storytelling.

4. Strategic investment in healthy-food promotion is gaining traction

Government is considering a new advertising levy on HFSS products, with proceeds going to creative marketing for fruit and vegetables. As a concept, it is gaining momentum among planners and strategy teams.

Key questions marketers must now ask

• Are we planning for message-first vs product-first campaigns in the Golden Quarter?

• Can we pivot instantly if ASA issues final guidance that clarifies or tightens brand-only exemptions?

• Are we exploring alternative channels effectively, or retreating into paid search and email alone?

• Do we begin product reformulation or innovation to fit outside LHF definitions?

• How do we measure brand impact in a zone where product-based campaign data no longer applies?

  
  

How Truene Creative helps brands think smarter

We build strategies rooted in compliance, clarity, and commercial creativity:

• Making brand-only positioning work harder, without featuring product imagery

• Creating cross-channel content outside the forbidden zone (audio, outdoor, influencer) that still enhances brand familiarity

• Planning ahead for legislative ambiguity or change, championing brand safety while allowing flexibility

• Designing NPD and healthier messaging that naturally fits into the regulatory safe zone

The upcoming rules aren’t a ban, they simply require more nuance. Brands that adapt will not lose visibility. They’ll evolve it. If your marketing team is already rewriting product cm thresholds and brand briefs for Q4, you are thinking ahead.