Policing food ad ban a 'dystopian satire', says Institute of Economic Affairs

Commenting on the Advertising Standards Authority banning its first food advertisements under the government's new advertising restrictions, the IEA's Head of Lifestyle Economics, Dr Christopher Snowdon, said:

"The ASA's attempts to police the government's food advertising ban read like something out of a dystopian satire. Lidl got away with promoting a cheese pretzel on Instagram but it went too far with a Pain Suisse. Big John had a close shave by filming in a kebab shop, but fortunately didn't show any verboten products on screen. A travel agency got away with showing a doughnut on television before 9pm because it was only in passing.

"One can only laugh at such earnest attempts to enforce this ludicrous policy. 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."