ASA bans M&M's and Morley's ads in first rulings under new junk food rules
Updated: Sep 1
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has handed down its first formal rulings under the new restrictions on advertising less healthy food and drink, and the early verdicts show just how sharp the teeth of the regime are. In a batch of six cases published in July 2026, the regulator banned Instagram ads from confectionery giant M&M's and a Morley's fried chicken franchise in Woking, while clearing campaigns from Domino's, KFC, Papa Johns and Uber Eats.
What the new rules cover
The rules prohibit advertising for products classed as 'less healthy' — under the Government's Nutrient Profile Model — from appearing on television and on-demand services between 5:30am and 9pm, and from paid-for online media at any time. The aim is to reduce children's exposure to products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). For marketers, the practical challenge was never the principle but the detail: which products actually count, and how far a recognisable brand can go before it trips the wire.
The M&M's ad, which featured the brand's familiar cartoon characters alongside less healthy products, was judged to break the rules. The Morley's ad, promoting a meal deal of burgers, nuggets and wings, met the same fate. Both appeared on Instagram — a paid online environment where the restriction applies around the clock, not just before the 9pm watershed.
Why some ads escaped the ban
Just as instructive are the campaigns the ASA cleared. Domino's escaped because the specific product it promoted, a Vegi Supreme pizza, was not classified as less healthy. Ads from KFC, Papa Johns and an Uber Eats spot featuring a Burger King Whopper were also cleared, with the regulator clarifying how 'brand advertising' exemptions work when no identifiable less-healthy product is the focus of the ad.
ASA chief executive Guy Parker said the job was to apply the new rules 'accurately, fairly and consistently', and pointed to the reformulation incentives built into the system — brands that lower the fat, salt or sugar in a product can move it below the threshold and keep advertising it freely. The rulings also underline an uncomfortable truth for marketers: the Nutrient Profile Model's classification does not always match what shoppers instinctively assume is healthy or unhealthy.
For British food, drink and hospitality brands — and the agencies that serve them — these first cases are the clearest guidance yet on where the line sits. Expect a wave of campaign audits, reformulation pushes and a creative pivot toward brand-building that steers well clear of the products most likely to be caught.
The brands panicking about these rules are the ones that built their marketing around the product shot. The smart ones are rediscovering brand-building — telling stories, owning a feeling, earning attention — none of which a nutrient profile model can touch. Constraint has always been the mother of great creative.
— Christie McCormack, Retail & Consumer Editor at Marketing Minute
The HFSS rules aren't the end of food advertising — they're the end of lazy food advertising.
Has your brand stress-tested its campaigns against the UK's new less-healthy food rules?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
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Written by Christie McCormack, Retail & Consumer Editor at Marketing Minute
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