Plans to ban junk food adverts from bus stops and billboards to protect public health are being stymied by advertising industry lobbying, reveals an investigation published by The BMJ today.
The BMJ sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 52 of the 317 councils in England to uncover how advertising firms and lobby groups were targeting council policies to restrict 'out-of-home' junk food adverts.
McDonald's was the largest out-of-home advertiser in 2024 with a spend of £86.3 million, according to trade body Outsmart. Others in the top 20 include Pepsico, Coca Cola, KFC, Mars and Mondelez, the US owners of Cadbury.
The FOI responses show that advertising companies and their representatives are warning councils in financial crisis that their advertising revenues will plummet if they restrict the promotion of products high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS).
These warnings have led to some local authorities shelving their plans despite the potential benefits to public health.
The findings expose a gap in government plans to ban junk food advertising aimed at children. Experts are now urging a ban on "out of home" HFSS advertising, in line with restrictions on these foods being advertised before the 9pm TV watershed and in paid-for online adverts at any time, due to come into effect in October 2025. The industry lobbying exposed in this The BMJ investigation has a "chilling effect" on such national policy making, they say.
Some of the local authorities lobbied include Liverpool City, Tower Hamlets in East London, and Luton Borough in Bedfordshire, areas where over 40% of 10 and 11-year-olds are overweight or obese.
Those councils who push ahead with the bans despite industry lobbying are also facing delays as long as eight years to enforce them, due to their existing contracts with the advertising firms.
And even when the bans come into effect, they are allowing adverts for products including McDonald's chicken nuggets and KFC fillet burgers to continue to be displayed. Some companies are also moving their ads to privately owned space such as shops, bus companies or taxi firms to sidestep council bans.
Outsmart says it is "one of the most regulated forms of advertising" and that it remains "committed to a constructive dialogue on this issue."
But Fran Bernhardt of Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, says she has seen "a range of lobbying tactics deployed, aimed at scaremongering, delaying, weakening or attempting to block policies from being approved."
Today's findings support this view, revealing how the advertising industry uses language to frighten councils about the financial impact of restrictions. Peterborough City Council, for example, was warned by major outdoor advertising firms Clear Channel and JC Decaux that a ban on junk food ads could "impact revenue generation."
The investigation also shows how the advertising industry is attempting to undermine evidence of the health benefits of HFSS advertising bans, and claiming that, rather than causing obesity, advertising "can be part of the solution."
Outsmart, responding on behalf of Clear Channel and JC Decaux, says it "supports a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to public health." It adds: "A whole-systems approach, including positive public health campaigns where advertisers can play a role, would be more effective in tackling this vital issue."
But figures released last month showed childhood obesity rates in the UK were projected to increase by 50% by 2050. Experts are urging the government to bring in a national ban on out-of-home junk food adverts in line with the incoming 9pm TV watershed and restrictions for online adverts from October.
Bernhardt tells The BMJ: "The government is leaving individual local authorities to fight for this policy against powerful vested interests… This is inconsistent and leaves children at risk, so we need comprehensive restrictions nationwide."
Outsmart says, "We take pride in being a responsible industry, because our advertising is always subject to public scrutiny… Many advertisers are already actively reformulating products to meet the incoming national HFSS regulations for TV and online."
Emma Boyland, Professor of Food Marketing and Child Health at the University of Liverpool, says the lobbying unveiled in The BMJ's investigation "matters because [advertising companies] are a powerful voice. Where industries that are affected by the restrictions have a seat at the table in implementing and developing the restrictions, there's plenty of evidence that the restrictions then end up being much weaker or being delayed."
The investigation comes as charities Bite Back and Impact on Urban Health have taken over parts of South London with their own ad campaign in a symbolic show of resistance against the efforts brands take to ensure junk food plays a starring role in all our minds. Their black and white billboards say: "We've bought this ad space so the junk food giants couldn't - we're giving kids a commercial break."
