Trade Desk ordered to stop HFSS ads in UK

The Trade Desk, a media buying platform that partners with brands including Ocado, Lidl, and Kellanova, has received an order from the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to halt the use of imagery depicting high-fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) products in its advertising. The company previously included a photograph of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in a LinkedIn post meant to showcase its client roster, claiming the image served only as an example of its customer base and did not encourage direct purchases of the candy.

The ASA determined that despite non-food businesses typically being exempt from HFSS advertising rules, this ad qualified as a “joint ad” with a food supplier, placing it under regulatory examination. The authority concluded that the post actively highlighted the confectionery product, even if the intended audience, UK marketing professionals, recognized it as a promotion by The Trade Desk. As a result, the ASA ruled that the advertisement violated the advertising code by endorsing an identifiable “less healthy” food item.

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New regulations on HFSS advertising, implemented in January, now ban online promotions of such products across television, social media, and digital channels. These measures, driven by the Department of Health, aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030.