Natasha Maric

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Ad restrictions on HFSS products in the UK to now take effect on 5 January 2026, with voluntary compliance from advertisers and broadcasters from 1 October 2025

The authors wish to thank Royce Clemente for his contribution to this post. The UK Government has delayed the implementation of the Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024 (“Regulations”), which were due to come into force on 1 October 2025, in order to explicitly exempt ‘pure brand’ advertising from the Regulations. The Regulations … Continue Reading

Harmful gender stereotypes or a double standard? Calvin Klein and GIRLvsCANCER ads banned in the UK

The authors thank Zarah Bhatti for her contributions to this post. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two ads for breach of the rule prohibiting the use of gender stereotypes in advertising, which was introduced in 2019. We commented at the time that these restrictions were likely to see a rise in number … Continue Reading

The rising regulatory tide on environmental claims – Shell found in breach of the Advertising Standards Authority’s rules, again!

Last month, oil giant, Shell, was caught out again by UK regulator – the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA“) – for breaching its rules against making misleading environmental claims. Previous ASA ruling against Shell This latest ruling is reminiscent of a 2020 ASA ruling against Shell for a radio ad, where it used the claim “Drive … Continue Reading

Hungry for change: ASA and Government target junk food ads

With childhood obesity rates in the UK among some of the worst in Europe, the Government has set a national target to halve childhood obesity by 2030. Whilst the Government acknowledges that this is a multi-faceted problem, it has reported that evidence suggests that children’s exposure to advertising of products that are high in fat, … Continue Reading

The thorny issue of keyword advertising: Interflora and M&S dispute set for retrial

Last year, we brought you news of Interflora’s victory against Marks & Spencer (“M&S”) in a keyword advertising dispute where M&S were found liable for trade mark infringement by the UK High Court. In a dramatic turn of events, the Court of Appeal has overturned the original decision and ordered a retrial by the High … Continue Reading
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