Marketers have reacted to an update published yesterday (13 January) by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on behalf of the Advertising Standards Authority.

The body has announced it will launch a second public consultation to ask for opinions on media restrictions on advertisements for “less healthy” food and drink products.

The body, appointed by Ofcom, will use the consultation to revise its guidance on implementing new restrictions on advertising ‘unhealthy’ food and drink.

The new restrictions, which come into effect from October 2025, will ban ads with ‘identifiable’ less healthy food and drink from being shown on Ofcom-regulated TV services between 5.30am and 9.00pm.

Advertisers will also be restricted from showing junk food ads on Ofcom-regulated broadcast on-demand services between 5.30am and 9.00pm, and from placing ads in paid-for space in online media.

CAP hopes that by launching a second consultation it will be able to provide clarity on nuanced issues such as brand advertising and the interpretation of “identifiable” products.

It hopes to publish its final guidance in Spring 2025.

IAB head of policy and affairs Christie Dennehy-Neil said: “With the online ad ban for less healthy food and drink coming into force this year, the industry needs urgent clarity about how the ban will work in practice. It has always been the intention that brand advertising would be out of scope of the ban, as the government confirmed repeatedly when pressed by industry to reword the legislation for the avoidance of doubt.

“Their failure to do so means that ASA and CAP are now faced with the challenging task of interpreting laws that are poorly drafted to give proper effect to the policy intention. We will be continuing to represent our members by feeding into the consultation on the revised guidance where appropriate and supporting the regulator to ensure that this ban is as workable as possible.”

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ISBA director of public affairs Rob Newman said: “The previous Conservative administration and the current Labour Government have been crystal clear that the focus of the ‘less healthy’ food and drink restrictions is identifiable products, and that brands should be able to continue to advertise. This is important not only to incentivise reformulation – a key aim of the restrictions – but also to ensure continued investment and growth.

“When MPs were debating the Health and Care Bill which brought in the LHF changes in the last Parliament, we consistently argued that the exemption for brand advertising should be written into the legislation, not least to avoid problems of this kind. Ministers at the time told Parliament that this was unnecessary, but it has proven to be essential.

“The regulator was handed a real hospital pass and has been striving to create workable guidance. ISBA has been and will continue to be closely engaged with CAP/BCAP as it works to complete this process.

“Brand owners sorely need urgent clarity on what they can and cannot put in their ads. For many, this is absolutely business critical. We are in close contact with government as we try and untangle this Gordian knot and ensure that the stated policy is implemented in time for October.”

Stephen Woodford, CEO, Advertising Association said: “The ability for companies to advertise is crucial for growth and competition as well enabling the product reformulation that is at the heart of the Government’s anti-obesity policy agenda.

“This is why successive governments have agreed with industry that the brand exemption is important. We have advocated throughout the legislative process for the brand exemption to be written into law and we have been repeatedly told that this was not necessary. The result is the ASA has now been put in the difficult position of having to balance inadequate legislation with the Government’s public policy intention.

“The Government must act swiftly to resolve this and provide industry with the certainty it needs to meet the deadline for implementing the new restrictions.  We will continue to work with the regulator and Ministers to ensure the stated policy is implemented properly and in full.”