Lidl GB’s chief executive, Ryan McDonnell, has voiced worries over the “a lot of uncertainty” surrounding this year’s festive advertisements due to fresh restrictions on product displays.
The new regulations state that post-9pm watershed television adverts cannot showcase products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), which are also entirely prohibited from paid-for online advertising.
Initially scheduled to be implemented from 1 October, these restrictions have been voluntarily embraced by the industry from the same date, as the government delayed their introduction until next year.
This means a variety of products typically showcased in supermarket Christmas adverts will be missing from prime-time television slots, with companies’ own websites and social channels potentially being amongst the few places they can be displayed online, the Grocer reported.
Nevertheless, how these regulations will be enforced remains unclear, according to McDonnell.
Speaking to The Grocer, he said: “It would be an understatement to tell you that we’re obviously learning very quickly, and there’s a lot of uncertainty around what the rules of play are, and that’s across traditional media and social” He continued: “There’s no doubt we’ve had to engineer our ads differently and be a lot more conservative, because there are so many products and categories that fall under HFSS regulation. So, it’s going to be interesting. Obviously, with Christmas upon us and retailers increasing their media spend, we’re going to have to see how the market plays out. There will be some interesting learnings.”
Last year’s Christmas Advert dates.
- Lidl: November 3 2024
- Marks & Spencer: November 4 last year
- Aldi: November 4 last year
- ASDA: November 4 last year
- Waitrose: November 5 and November 26 last year
- Boots: November 6 last year
- Tesco: November 12 last year
- John Lewis: November 14 last year
Bakery items such as crumpets, scones, croissants, pains au chocolat, pancakes and waffles are all deemed junk food under the new regulations.
Sweet treats including muffins, flapjacks and mini rolls face prohibition, though icing and cake decorations remain exempt, alongside savoury bread and conventional loaves.
The limitations extend to sugary breakfast cereals such as granola, muesli and “porridge oats, including instant porridge and other hot oat-based cereals”, whilst snacks like protein bars, cereal bars and biscuits will also fall under the prohibition.
Food and beverage advertisements face bans if products are deemed “less healthy” according to a Government assessment system evaluating salt, fat, sugar and protein levels.
In reality, this creates scope for healthier product variants to maintain advertising rights, such as porridge oats, whilst excluding items like porridge products enhanced with added sugar, salt or fat.
Likewise, natural unsweetened yoghurt escapes the restriction, but fruity and low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais will face the ban. The ban, which came into effect in October, includes not only the obvious culprits such as fizzy drinks, energy drinks and lemonades, but also certain fruit juices, smoothies, milk-based beverages and milk substitutes like soya, almond, oat, hemp, hazelnut or rice.
Even chickpea or lentil-based crisps, fried, flavoured or seasoned chickpeas, seaweed snacks and Bombay mix are on the list.
From this point forward, television adverts for these junk food items will only be permitted after 9pm.
The restrictions extend to paid online advertisements for these products, in an effort to limit children’s exposure to foods high in fat, sugar or salt. The Government anticipates that this move will prevent around 20,000 instances of childhood obesity and eliminate a staggering 7.2 billion calories annually from the diets of UK children.
The Government’s impact assessment highlights that “overall the studies do find a clear link between food advertising and calorie consumption”.