Who: The UK government, the Committees of Advertising Practice and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
Where: United Kingdom
When: 10 September 2025
Law stated as at: 2 October 2025
What happened:
Following the government’s consultation on draft secondary legislation to clarify that “brand advertising” is exempt from the advertising restrictions on less healthy food and drink products on TV and online, The Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025 have now been issued.
These regulations also make clear that the “brand advertising” exemption is concerned with the “content” of brand advertisements so that contextual factors, such as the perception of a brand or its association with less healthy food or drink products, do not form part of any assessment as to whether an ad falls within the exemption.
The government has also published its response to the consultation, in which it explains that it made certain clarificatory changes to the draft legislation before making it final to address consultation respondents’ suggestions that the proposed legislation was confusing. The changes made included:
- Respondents were concerned by how the regulations would apply where a brand name is shared by both a product range and a specific less healthy product. The government confirmed that the regulations already cover company names matching an original product and it amended paragraph 6 of regulation 2 to extend this to product ranges also. A product range brand that shares name with a specific less healthy food or drink may therefore continue to advertise using that name, provided the brand was already in use immediately before 16 July 2025. This is to prevent new ranges being created to mirror the name of a less healthy product.
- The government confirmed that brand and product range logos are permitted by the legislation, provided the ad does not depict a specific less healthy product. It has also added “logos” to the branding techniques used in the definition of “depict” and clarified that “name” includes names appearing within logos.
- The government also added “brand character” to the definition of “depict”, confirming that ads featuring characters linked to a specific less healthy product (or products) are not exempt. However, characters associated only with a product range brand or a company are not restricted.
- The government amended paragraph 5 of regulation 2 to replace “photographic image” with “realistic image” and provided a definition for what a “realistic image” is considered to be to address allegations of confusion.
These regulations will come into effect on 31 October 2025 and the wider advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink on TV and online media will now take effect, UK-wide, on 5 January 2026. However, some advertisers and broadcasters voluntarily have committed to comply with the new restrictions from the original “in force” date of 1 October 2025 and so are applying such restrictions in practice already.
The government has also published a collection page, bringing together information about all the regulations relating to the restrictions on advertising and promoting less healthy food and drink products in one place.
The Committees of Advertising Practice have also now published a consultation on the implementation of these restrictions as far as the UK advertising codes are concerned. The consultation sets out the committees’ proposals for amending the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice Code (BCAP Code), together with draft implementation guidance that reflects the underlying legislation and indicates how the ASA is likely to enforce the new rules.
Why this matters:
Companies in scope of the new restrictions should be aware of the clarifications set out in the regulations and consider how this will impact the application of the high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) advertising regime to their business and individual products. It may also be helpful to review the government’s response in full, as this offers clarity on how the regulations work in practice.
Businesses should also look out for the Committee of Advertising Practice’s final implementation guidance ahead of the advertising restrictions taking full effect from 5 January 2026.
