Supermaket boss says Christmas ads hit by uncertainty due to new rules | UK | News
Ryan McDonnell, chief executive of Lidl GB, has expressed concern about “a lot of uncertainty” surrounding festive advertising this year due to new restrictions on product displays.
The new regulations state that television advertisements after 9pm cannot showcase products containing high levels of fat, sugar or salt (HFSS); This also means a complete ban on paid online advertising.
These restrictions, which were originally planned to be implemented from October 1, were adopted voluntarily by the industry from the same date, as the government postponed the implementation until next year.
This means that various products usually showcased in supermarket Christmas adverts will not feature in prime time television programmes, with companies’ own websites and social channels potentially among the few places they could appear online. The grocery store reported.
However, according to McDonnell, it remains unclear how these regulations will be implemented.
To talk General store, He said: “It would be an understatement to tell you that we’re obviously learning very quickly and there’s a lot of uncertainty about what the rules of the game are and that’s a lot of uncertainty in traditional media and social media.” He continued: “There’s no doubt we’ve had to design our advertising differently and be much more conservative because there are so many products and categories that fall under the HFSS regulation. So it’s going to be interesting. Obviously, as Christmas approaches and retailers are increasing their media to spend We’ll have to see how the market works. There will be some interesting learning.”
Last year’s Christmas Ad dates.
- Lidl: 3 November 2024
- Marks & Spencer: 4 November last year
- Aldi: November 4 last year
- ASDA: 4 November last year
- Waitrose: 5 November and 26 November last year
- Bots: November 6 last year
- Tesco: 12 November last year
- John Lewis: 14 November last year
Baked goods such as pancakes, muffins, croissants, bittersweet chocolate, pancakes and waffles are all considered junk food under the new regulations.
While sweet treats such as muffins, flapjacks and mini rolls face the ban, savory bread and traditional loaves remain exempt, as well as icing and cake decorations.
The restrictions cover sugary breakfast cereals such as granola, muesli and “porridge, including instant porridge and other hot oat-based cereals”, while snacks such as protein bars, cereal bars and biscuits will also fall under the ban.
Advertising for food and drink will face a ban if products are deemed “less healthy” according to the government’s rating system, which assesses levels of salt, fat, sugar and protein.
In effect, this creates space for healthier ranges of products, such as porridge, to protect advertising rights, while excluding products such as porridge products enriched with the addition of sugar, salt or fat.
Similarly, natural unsweetened yoghurt is also exempt from the restriction, but fruit and low-fat yoghurt or fresh yoghurts will face the ban. The ban, which went into effect in October, covers not only the obvious culprits like sodas, energy drinks and lemonades, but also certain juices, smoothies, milk-based drinks and milk substitutes such as soy, almond, oat, hemp, hazelnut or rice.
Even chickpea or lentil-based chips, fried, flavored or spiced chickpeas, seaweed snacks and Bombay mix are on the list.
From this point onwards, television advertisements for these junk foods will only be allowed after 9pm.
The restrictions also include paid online advertising for these products, with the aim of limiting children’s exposure to foods high in fat, sugar or salt. The government predicts the move will prevent around 20,000 cases of childhood obesity and eliminate a staggering 7.2 billion calories a year from the diet of children in the UK.
The government’s impact assessment highlights that “overall, studies have found a clear link between food advertising and calorie consumption.”
