The Government have announced that they will legislate to properly exempt brand advertising from the upcoming Less Healthy Food and drink (LHF) advertising restrictions. In order to achieve this, they will delay the rules coming into force until 5 January 2026.
However, organisations representing advertisers, broadcasters and online have signed a voluntary commitment that they will not seek to run LHF product ads from 1 October 2025. You can view the letter here.
In response, Rob Newman, Director of Public Affairs at ISBA, said:
“This is a welcome announcement from Ministers which confirms what has been the intention of this policy all along – namely, that ads with identifiable less healthy products will be restricted, but ads for a brand which don’t show those products will not.
“Advertisers will want to do their best to act as if the restrictions were in place from October, as per the voluntary agreement with government. Many had already created brand-led campaigns, understanding that that was to be the shape of the policy.
“The Government’s announcement is a pro-growth and pro-public health intervention. It ensures that brands can continue to commit their advertising spend to the UK, while at the same time it incentivises the reformulation of products which is at the heart of the restrictions.
“We look forward to working with the regulator to swiftly finalise the guidance for advertisers under the new rules.”