Adverts for takeaway giants Domino’s, Papa John’s, KFC and Burger King have all been cleared of breaking new rules governing junk food products.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acknowledged that “specific products that people understandably assume are less healthy are not in fact classified as less healthy under the Government’s Nutrient Profile Model” as it ruled that the ads could continue to appear.
The rules, which came into force at the beginning of this year, ban ads for identifiable less healthy food products from appearing on TV or on-demand services between 5.30am and 9pm, or in paid online media at any time.
They are designed to reduce children’s exposure to ads for less healthy food products and were introduced by the Government as part of its wider public health strategy.
The new ban applies to products that fall within 13 categories considered to play the most significant role in childhood obesity, including soft drinks, chocolates and sweets, pizzas and ice creams, but also breakfast cereals and porridges, sweetened bread products, and main meals and sandwiches.
Products that fall into these categories are then also assessed as to whether they are less healthy based on a scoring tool that considers their nutrient levels and whether they are high in saturated fat, salt or sugar.
Only products that meet both of the two criteria are included in the restrictions.
The ASA cleared two ads for a Domino’s “Vegi Supreme” pizza, finding that it did not fall within the classification of a less healthy product and was visually different from the less healthy pizzas sold by the brand.
It also found a TV, video on demand and three social media ads for KFC did not break the rules because the featured burgers, chicken pieces and soft drinks were either not classified as “less healthy” or were visually different from specific less healthy menu items.
Similarly, a Facebook ad for Papa John’s showing a promotional offer and an image of a vegetable pizza did not break the new rules because the product was not classified as “less healthy” and was visually different from the less healthy pizzas sold by the firm.
A video on demand ad for Uber Eats showing a Burger King Whopper alongside Uber Eats and Burger King branding was cleared to continue screening because the burger shown was not classified as “less healthy” and was visually different from other less healthy Burger King products, the ASA said.
However, a paid-for Instagram ad for fast food restaurant Morley’s Woking promoting two meal deals featuring burgers, wings, nuggets, fries and drinks has been banned because it “clearly identified multiple specific products that were classified as less healthy”.
A paid-for Instagram ad for M&M’s featuring two cartoon-style M&M’s, one round and green and the other oval and yellow, has also been banned because the oval yellow character depicted a specific “less healthy” product – in this case peanut M&M’s – rather than just the brand.
ASA chief executive Guy Parker said: “Our job is to apply the new LHF (less healthy food) rules, which mirror the law, accurately, fairly and consistently.
“Today’s rulings provide clarity on how the ‘brand exemption’ aspect of the rules applies in practice.
“They also show that less healthy products can be hard to spot. Some specific products that people understandably assume are less healthy are not in fact classified as less healthy under the Government’s Nutrient Profile Model.
“That might sometimes be because food businesses have reformulated them to bring them below the less healthy threshold.
“It’s worth mentioning that Government has been clear that it wants the restrictions to incentivise food businesses to do exactly that: reformulate their products so they are no longer classified as less healthy.”