A series of industry-prepared materials has been published as advertisers gear up for the new restrictions on advertising ‘Less Healthy Foods’ which take effect from 1 October 2025.

We have previously commented on the restrictions (see for example, here). In short, they were announced at the end of last year and prohibit (i) the advertising of so-called ‘less healthy’ food and drink products on Ofcom-licensed TV services and Ofcom-regulated on-demand programme services between 17:30 and 21:00; and (ii) paid-for advertising for less healthy products aimed at UK consumers being placed on online media at any time.

Since the announcement, plans to introduce the restrictions suffered a setback due to confusion over the treatment of so-called ‘brand advertising’, leading to the Government drafting a statutory instrument (which we commented upon here) to confirm that it would not be caught. That setback has meant that the restrictions will now not come into force until 5 January 2026. However, a large number of industry organisations have separately signed a voluntary commitment to act as though the rules will be coming into place on 1 October 2025.

To ensure that advertisers comply with the new rules by this date, the ISBA, IPA, IAB UK, and Advertising Association have teamed up to launch a cross-industry campaign aimed at raising awareness of the upcoming restrictions. As the Head of Policy and Public Affairs at IAB UK, Sinead Coogan-Jones, explains, “suppliers and partners across the online advertising supply chain have an important role to play to ensure advertisers know how to comply and adapt their clients’ strategies accordingly to avoid LHF [less healthy food] product ads appearing online”. The bodies have produced a series of resources to help their members understand the new restrictions, including FAQs, an online training video, and quick tips.

Most recently, the IAB UK has also launched guidance for TV+ platforms (see here), advising them to – among other things – conduct a mapping exercise to understand which channels will be subject to restrictions, and engage with key clients to ensure they understand what content can be run across different sections of the platform’s portfolio.

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