Somebody (or some bot) is policing the ban on less healthy food with an astounding diligence. There was a single complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority against each of four different ads – one each for Iceland, Lidl, On the Beach and German Doner Kebabs – but only two were upheld.
The offenders were an online effort for Iceland which featured Swizzels, Chupa Chups, Chooe Stix and Haribo; plus a Lidl social post that was centred on a cream-filled Pain Suisse.
On the Beach got the all-clear because a donut was incidental to the message, while German Doner Kebab’s Instagram post escaped because it focused on the healthier items being ordered.
Countering the HFSS police we have free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (whose director general is chief Brexit negotiator Lord Frost), which is never afraid to stoke the culture wars.
Its head of lifestyle economics, Christopher Snowdon, said: “The ASA’s attempts to police the government’s food advertising ban read like something out of a dystopian satire. The more serious side is that broadcasters and internet platforms are now missing out on millions of pounds of advertising revenue because the government doesn’t want people to set eyes on perfectly normal food products.”
