Harmful

All ads should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society. They must not cause serious or widespread harm or use approaches that are likely to encourage socially irresponsible behaviour.

This includes not causing fear or distress without justifiable reason (and where justified, the fear or distress should not be excessive) and not condoning or encouraging unsafe practice.

We have upheld complaints about harm and social responsibility against a diverse range of ads including:

Alcohol – e.g. not encouraging excessive or unwise styles of drinking
Motoring – e.g. not encouraging motorists to drive irresponsibly such as at high speed or without a seatbelt
Health – e.g. not discouraging essential treatment of serious or prolonged ailments
Body Image – e.g. not encouraging an unhealthy diet or lifestyle including the depiction of extremely thin models

Particularly special care should be taken when ads are addressed to, or depict, children or young people. Ads that fall in to this category should contain nothing that is likely to result in a child’s physical, mental or moral harm and they should not exploit a child’s credulity, loyalty, vulnerability or lack of experience.

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Latest rulings

Domino's Pizza UK & Ireland Ltd t/a Domino's
- Not Upheld
- Social media (paid ad)
- 08 July 2026
Two paid-for social media ads for Domino’s pizza didn’t break the rules by featuring an identifiable less healthy product.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (Great Britain) Ltd t/a KFC
- Not upheld
- Social media (paid ad), Television, Video on demand
- 08 July 2026
A TV ad, Video on Demand and three paid-for social media ads for KFC didn’t break the rules by featuring an identifiable less healthy product.
Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK Ltd t/a Mars
- Upheld
- Social media (paid ad)
- 08 July 2026
A paid-for Instagram ad for M&M’s broke the rules by featuring an identifiable less healthy food product through the inclusion of a character that depicted a specific less healthy food product.
Papa John's (GB) Ltd t/a Papa Johns
- Not upheld
- Social media (paid ad)
- 08 July 2026
A paid for Facebook ad for Papa John’s didn’t break the rules by featuring an identifiable less healthy product.

View all rulings

Harmful

All ads should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society. They must not cause serious or widespread harm or use approaches that are likely to encourage socially irresponsible behaviour.

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Latest rulings

Domino's Pizza UK & Ireland Ltd t/a Domino's

Kentucky Fried Chicken (Great Britain) Ltd t/a KFC

Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK Ltd t/a Mars

Papa John's (GB) Ltd t/a Papa Johns

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