Pies, Fish Fingers & Marmite! UK Mulls Definition Of “Junk Food” As Ad Ban Looms
As plans to ban junk food advertising before 9pm are considered by the UK government, debate now rages to the exact meaning of what actually constitutes junk food.
For most of us, junk food’s sugary breakfast cereals, KFC and soft drinks, however, the actual definition could mean a lot more everyday pantry items face the advertising chop.
Back in June, British prime minister Boris Johnson announced the “Better Health” initiative to tackle the countries spiralling obesity numbers.
Johnson declared Brits “will be happier, fitter and more resistant to diseases like COVID if we can tackle obesity”.
Part of the plan included a potential ban on all junk food advertising on the nation’s TV sets before 9pm.
But commentators in the UK have questioned the definition of what is junk food, saying the new rules will take out many common pantry staples.
According to the rules, to be defined as junk food a product has to contain more than 1.5 grams of salt, 20 grams of fat or 22.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
An that’s not just a Big Mac and a Coke, if those rules were applied everyday items such as sausage rolls, pies, tomato sauce, Marmite, fish fingers, pasties, bacon, cheese, houmous and even potato salad would face an advertising boycott.
As part of “Better Health”, the government also plans to ban “buy one get one free” promotions and is considering new rules on the placement of junk food in supermarkets.
Large restaurant chains would also be required to label the calories in their meals on the menu.
British policy think tank the Adams Institute has slammed the new rules.
“The government’s barmy ad ban plan doesn’t cut the mustard… well, technically it does,” Daniel Pryor, head of programs at the Adam Smith Institute said.
“Instead of helping consumers find great British produce, the definition of junk food takes out some of the country’s favourite food items.”
Please login with linkedin to comment
junk food advertisingLatest News
“Secretive, Divisive, Undemocratic!” New Campaign Launches Calling For The End Of The Monarchy
The Olympics may give nations a huge boost in the parochial nationalism stakes (particularly those winning gold medals), however, that doesn’t necessarily appear to be the case in the UK at the moment with the arrival of a new billboard campaign calling for the end of the monarchy. The out of home campign is the […]
Sunday TV Wrap: Seven Nets More Than Two Million For Olympics
With Australia celebrating its best ever gold medal Olympics day, it’s probably not surprising that the Seven Network secured a massive proportion of Sunday’s TV viewership. Highlights from the Games themselves obviously including Emma McKeown, who snared gold in the women’s freestyle and was part of the gold-winning relay too, while Matt Wearn won gold […]
YouTube Serves Sky News With A One-Week Ban Following COVID-19 Coverage
Sky News has had its YouTube channel suspended for one week, following a review of the network’s COVID-19 coverage. The suspension means the Sky News YouTube channel – which currently has over 1.85 million subscribers – will be unable to upload any videos for seven days, however, pre-existing content that was posted before Thursday and […]
Jodie Oddy Makes Return To Radio, Scoring Nova Show
Nova 919 has announced that Jodie Oddy will officially join the station, with The Jodie Oddy Show set to kickstart Nova’s weekends. An Adelaide radio favourite and one of the most enduring and successful female media personalities in SA, Oddy joins Nova with over 13 years breakfast radio experience and is excited to be getting […]
The Kyle & Jackie O Show Censored Anti-Vaxxer Pauline Hanson
Reigning radio king Kyle Sandilands, has called out his own show on KIIS 106.5 for censoring politician Pauline Hanson. ‘The Kyle & Jackie O show has been on a high since the announcement it won the latest ratings survey. However, things became tense on Friday when Hanson’s anti-vaccination comments were censored. The right-wing politician has been […]
Keith Urban To Front Next Cover Of Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia publisher The Brag Media has today announced four-time Grammy winning artist Keith Urban as its cover artist for its upcoming sixth issue out September 6, marking his first time ever to be anointed with the cover of Rolling Stone. Delving into the curious mind of Keith Urban, the cover feature profiles one […]
MTV And iHeartRadio Celebrate Four Decades Of Iconic Music Moments
MTV and ARN’s iHeartRadio Australia has announced the launch of MTV Sounds On iHeartRadio, a new pop up radio station to celebrate four decades of the iconic MTV brand. Launching on ARN’s iHeartRadio Australia on Monday, 2 August, the station will explore epic music moments looking back and beyond to celebrate MTV past, present and […]
Nature Grows: Announces String Of New Hires & Promotions
Agency Nature has announced the recruitment of a series of new professional staff across its Melbourne and Sydney offices. The addition of the new staff in recent months – follows strong growth in both offices during 2020-21 and is part of Nature’s ongoing investment in its people and capabilities. In Sydney, three new hires take […]
ARN Ditches ‘Australian Radio Network’ In Official Rebrand
ARN has officially turned off the mics on the Australian Radio Network. From today, ‘Australian Radio Network’ will be replaced with ‘ARN’. Following a holistic review of the audio landscape, brand proposition and culture at ARN, a confident brand evolution will be launched to market, with quality connections and audio at the heart of everything […]
Why Brands Are Moving Audience Research In-House
The role of the agency is changing. Many brands are changing their tack, redistributing their budget to get more control of their output, with a bigger focus on in-house. This is a shift that has been ongoing for years. While 2020 was a year of uncertainty and hesitancy to commit, digital advertising spend is starting […]
The Smith Family & Asahi Lifestyle Beverages Launch “The Big Giveback”
The Smith Family have teamed up with Asahi lifestyle beverages and launched the national campaign “The Big Giveback” aiming to raise much-needed funds for the charity. The campaign launches nationally this month to raise much-needed funds for young Australians in need through The Smith Family’s education support programs. The campaign comes after a new survey […]
Lizza Gebilagin Announced As New Editor Of Women’s Health, As Jacqui Mooney Departs
Women’s Health has today announced a new editor-in-chief, Lizza Gebilagin (main photo), who will lead the brand across print, digital, audio and events. Gebilagin was most recently the brand’s executive editor, alongside Jacqui Mooney, who will step down from the role to explore new opportunities but will continue to consult to the brand on major […]
Triple M Inks Three-Year Broadcast Deal With Cricket Australia
SCA’s Triple M will broadcast cricket again after Cricket Australia and the FM network finalised a three-year partnership for men’s international cricket in Australia. Triple M will kick off their coverage with what promises to be an epic 2021-22 Vodafone Ashes series from December 8 at The Gabba in Brisbane alongside every Test and One-Day […]
Foxtel Group & Amazon Prime Video Announce Local Deal
The Foxtel Group and Amazon Prime Video have announced a significant agreement to integrate the Prime Video app into Foxtel set-tops by the end of 2021. The deal aims to accelerate its streaming aggregation strategy to bring together, live and on-demand, all in one place. The new partnership will enable all Foxtel customers with a […]
QUT Business School Launches “Make it Real” Via BCM Group
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Business School has launched a new brand platform, developed by BCM Group, built to encourage prospective students to upskill, invest in themselves, and nurture their inner entrepreneur.
Making A Name For Your Brand In A New Market: Tips For Launching A Campaign Globally
Jacqueline Gonzales [featured image] is the Head of Global Marketing at Squarespace. In this piece, she shares her best pieces of advice for launching a campaign globally. It’s estimated that we see between 6,000 to 10,000 ads every single day. In today’s digital landscape we’re constantly bombarded by so many different brand messages from every […]
Sky News Pays Sarah Hanson-Young $40K In Damages
Sarah Hanson-Young now Australia's most prolific serial litigant. And, it has to be said, she's got bloody good lawyers.
Victoria Misses The Mark With “Mean” Border Permit Ads
Queensland now considering adding "and just f@ck off" to its famous tourism tag "beautiful one day, perfect the next".
Optus And Uber Team Up For Mobile Phone Delivery Service
You can now get a phone delivered in an hour! Perfect for the bone idle or coke dealers getting hacked by the fuzz.
Three Ways To Stay Connected To Your Customers In A Virtual World
It's top tips on staying connected to customers during lockdown! Unless you hate them. Then that's a whole other matter.
Parents’ Voice Condemns “Sugary Drinks And Unhealthy Food Marketing” During The Olympics
Parents call out unhealthy food Olympics marketing. No one concerned about crotch grabbing in the Greco-Roman wrestling.
Brazil’s Olympic Skateboarding Fairy Stars In Magical New Work From Nike
Thanks to the Olympics, all of a sudden skateboarding's cool again. Arguably good news for X-rays & plaster casts, too.
B&T’s Tokyo Olympics Recap: Tributes, Singing & Tweets
The Olympics again prove the world's just a big global family. Albeit a squabbling, semi-racist, passive-aggressive one.
Radio Ratings Set To Be Delayed A Week Due To Lockdowns
Ben Fordham set to dose-up on the Temazepam and warm milk, as an extra week of sleepless nights awaits radio ratings.
“Is He Hung Like A Horse?” Adam Driver Morphs Into A Centaur For Bizarre Burberry Fragrance Ad & The Internet’s Exploded!
Star Wars star becomes a centaur in Burberry ad & the jokes are writing themselves. Well, crude penis jokes, that is.
Samsung Ad Chief: Understanding The New TV Viewer
Ultimately, will the human thumb grow to resemble a sweet potato given its repeated workout on TV remote controls?
opr To Become Ogilvy PR Again In Latest Rebrand
In further proof you should never attempt a rebrand over a pub session comes opr's return to original Ogilvy name.
The 6am Agency Founder Gillian Fish Takes On Two New Roles
It sounds like 6am Agency founder Gillian Fish will need to get up at 5.30am after taking on two new roles.
WeMoney Launches Community Aiming To Help Lift Aussie Financial Wellness
WeMoney is now not only the place to learn how to budget but a place to improve your financial literacy, with a raft of well-known fin-influencers now making content on the WeMoney platform to teach, share tips, tricks as well as find bargains.
“We’re In Big-Bang Readiness”: Flight Centre To Ramp Up Media Buying Activity
Flight Centre rolls out overly optimistic campaign that doesn't feature typical cheesy actors pretending to be pilots.
