Joint comment responding to Health Minister’s statement on brand advertising

The Minister for Health and Social Care Ashley Dalton has issued a written ministerial statement (WMS) reiterating the Government’s view that pure brand advertising is not in scope of the incoming advertising restrictions on Less Healthy Foods. The incoming restrictions are due to come into force on October 1, 2025 across online channels and a pre-9pm TV watershed.

The Advertising Association, Channel 4, ISBA, ITV, Paramount, and STV have issued a joint statement in response:

“We strongly welcome today’s statement from the Department for Health and Social Care, in the context of the urgent need for clarity to plan and secure future advertising campaigns. They have once again been clear that the law passed by the previous Conservative Government, supported by the current Labour Government, and legislated for by Parliament does not intend to (and does not in fact) prevent any food or drink brands from advertising.

The ASA as the relevant front-line regulator must now accept the very clear purpose and effect of this legislation, which as the Government has made clear allows brands [to] promote their non-product attributes, such as corporate social responsibility commitments or customer experience, or advertise the healthier products within their portfolios. As the Government put it “We do not expect the perception or association of a corporate brand with less healthy products to automatically bring an advert into scope of the restrictions”. However, this is not what the current draft regulatory guidance provides for.

Advertising is central to the economy, to growth, and to the Government’s public health mission. The draft guidance as proposed by the regulator is not in line with the crystal clear intent of the legislation, and will have serious economic consequences for affected businesses.

It is now for the ASA and Ofcom to issue unequivocal guidance on brand advertising which reflects not only the law, but also the clear intention of Parliament and both the present and the last Governments. Such guidance is vital to ensure that the food, drink, retail and hospitality industries can still run brand advertising after the new legislation becomes law on 1 October. We look forward to working with the ASA and Ofcom, as the co-regulators in this space, to ensure that industry receives final guidance as quickly as possible.”