Marketing after the UK junk food ad ban: the playbook

The UK’s “junk food” ad restrictions are now live, and a lot of brands are treating it like a media problem: we’ve lost inventory, so we need to find new inventory. That’s the wrong framing.

For UK startups and scaleups—especially anyone in a regulated category (food and drink, health, alcohol alternatives, fintech, gambling-adjacent products, even kids’ apps)—this is a strategy moment. When regulators narrow what you can say, where you can say it, and to whom, the winners don’t outspend; they out-communicate.

This post is part of the Startup Marketing United Kingdom series, so I’m going to translate the FMCG-centric headlines into a practical, startup-friendly guide: what changes, what still works, and what to do in the next 30 days to keep brand awareness growing without stepping over compliance lines.

What the UK junk food ad ban changes (and what it doesn’t)

Answer first: The ban doesn’t kill growth marketing; it kills lazy, product-first advertising in broad-reach channels, especially online. You can still build demand—your creative and targeting approach just has to change.

A common mistake is to assume “restricted ads” means “no ads.” In practice, restrictions usually tighten rules around:

• Product-led messaging (explicit product pushes, price promos, direct-response-style hooks)
• Where ads can appear (certain digital placements, contextual environments, or times)
• Audience composition (limits around under-18s or “likely to be seen by” protected groups)
• Data usage and targeting (less room for behavioural targeting, more scrutiny on delivery)

What doesn’t change:

• You can still build mental availability (people remembering you when they’re ready to buy)
• You can still invest in brand storytelling and reputation
• You can still win attention through context, creativity, and distribution

Most companies get this wrong: they treat compliance as a creative straightjacket. It’s actually a forcing function to become clearer, more human, and more distinctive.

Why this matters for startups (not just big FMCG)

Startups feel restrictions harder because they often rely on:

• performance channels (paid social, programmatic)
• product claims (“clinically proven”, “burns fat”, “instant approval”)
• aggressive promo cycles

When any of that gets limited, CAC rises and pipelines wobble. The fix isn’t “spend more.” It’s rebalancing your marketing system toward channels and assets you control.

The real pivot: from product-led ads to compliant storytelling

Answer first: In restricted landscapes, the highest-performing brands shift from “buy this now” to “this is who we are, and here’s why you’ll care later.” You’re building future demand, not just harvesting existing demand.

Product-led creative tends to be brittle: it depends on being allowed to show the product, make specific claims, and target precisely. Story-led creative is more resilient because it focuses on:

• identity (who it’s for)
• values (why it exists)
• situations (when it shows up in someone’s life)
• emotion (how it makes people feel)

A practical framework: the 3 layers of compliant brand messaging

When regulations tighten, I’ve found it helpful to separate messaging into layers:

1. Brand layer (always-on): your mission, origin story, category POV, distinctive assets
2. Problem layer (contextual): the pain point you solve, without prohibited claims or prompts
3. Product layer (selective): what it is, proof points, offers—used carefully in compliant placements

If you’re in a sensitive category, you want 80% brand/problem, 20% product in broad-reach channels.

Example: “junk food” brand vs regulated startup

• A snack brand can run a film about after-school chaos and “small wins” for parents, without hammering price promos.
• A fintech startup can run content about how people feel when money is tight (relatable storytelling), while keeping specific financial claims to controlled environments (website, email, sales calls).

Same playbook. Different category.

Channel strategy in a restricted ad landscape (UK-specific)

Answer first: When targeting and placements are constrained, you win with channels that deliver broad reach with controllable context—then you convert through owned and first-party.

The Campaign article highlights the push toward compliant storytelling across channels like connected TV and display. For startups, the goal is to build a mix that doesn’t collapse when one platform’s policy changes.

Connected TV (CTV): broad reach without the social roulette

CTV is getting more attractive for two reasons:

• It can offer TV-like reach and attention with more flexible buying than linear TV.
• It’s often easier to keep creative brand-safe and context-controlled.

Startup take: you don’t need a £500k TV budget. You need:

• a single strong 15–30s brand spot
• a clear landing page built for curious, cold visitors
• a measurement plan that doesn’t pretend every impact is last-click

Good CTV KPI targets (early-stage brand building):

• branded search lift (week-on-week)
• direct traffic lift
• share of search in your category terms
• incremental signups vs geo/holdout where possible

Display and contextual: boring name, useful job

When behavioural targeting is restricted, contextual targeting becomes a serious tool again.

What works:

• contextual placements aligned to real life moments (meal planning, commuting, budgeting, parenting)
• creative that’s designed for low-attention environments (one message, one image)
• frequency caps so you don’t annoy people into disliking you

Startup take: treat display as reach + reminder, not as a conversion machine.

Owned channels: the compounding advantage

Restrictions expose a harsh truth: if you don’t have owned distribution, you’re renting growth.

If you’re rebuilding your mix in 2026, prioritise:

• Email: a weekly rhythm beats sporadic “launch blasts”
• SEO content: category education + comparison pages + use cases
• Community: small, high-trust groups (not giant “everyone welcome” Discords)
• Partnerships: retail, affiliate, creators, newsletters, trade bodies

These channels are less exciting than a viral paid social spike, but they keep working when the rules change.

A 30-day plan for startups in regulated industries

Answer first: Don’t start by rewriting ads. Start by auditing risk, then rebuilding your message architecture, then redeploying spend into a more resilient mix.

Here’s a concrete month-one plan you can run without a huge team.

Week 1: Compliance and delivery audit

• List every paid channel you use (Meta, TikTok, Google, programmatic, affiliates, influencers)
• Map your top 20 creatives and tag them as Brand / Problem / Product
• Identify risky elements:
  • claims you can’t substantiate
  • weight-loss/health performance language
  • youth-coded imagery or tone
  • aggressive urgency and promo framing
• Talk to whoever owns compliance (internal or external). Align on red lines.

Output: a “safe creative checklist” your team can actually follow.

Week 2: Build a storytelling spine (so you’re not guessing every time)

Write three things and keep them fixed for 90 days:

1. Your category POV: what you believe that competitors don’t
2. Your customer truth: the real-life situation your audience recognises instantly
3. Your distinctive cues: colours, sonic logo, characters, a repeated visual motif

Output: a one-page creative brief template.

Week 3: Recut your creative for compliant reach

Instead of one ad that tries to do everything, create a simple set:

• 1x hero film (15–30s): brand + customer truth
• 3x cutdowns (6–10s): one idea each
• 6x statics: strong visual, minimal copy
• 2x landing pages:
  • “What we stand for” page (brand)
  • “How it works” page (product, proof)

Output: assets you can use across CTV, online video, display, YouTube, and partnerships.

Week 4: Measurement that matches reality

If you measure brand campaigns with last-click ROAS, you’ll kill them too early.

A better stack:

• Leading indicators: branded search, direct traffic, share of search, video completion rates
• Mid indicators: email signups, content engagement, returning visitors
• Lagging indicators: assisted conversions, cohort conversion over 30–90 days

If you can, run a light geo test (even simple: one region on, one region off) for 4–6 weeks.

Brand building isn’t unmeasurable. It’s just not a same-day dopamine hit.

“People also ask” (the quick answers founders need)

Can startups still use paid social after ad restrictions?

Yes, but expect more scrutiny on creative, targeting, and landing pages. Treat paid social as distribution for brand/problem stories, and convert via owned channels.

Do restrictions automatically increase CAC?

They increase CAC if your strategy depends on hyper-targeting and product claims. If you shift to brand-led reach and improve conversion on-site, you can keep CAC stable.

What’s the safest growth investment in a restricted landscape?

Owned attention. Email, SEO, community, and partnerships are harder to take away than any ad placement.

The opportunity most teams will miss

The teams that win in 2026 won’t be the ones who find a clever loophole. They’ll be the ones who build a brand people recognise and trust before they’re in-market.

For the Startup Marketing United Kingdom series, this is the recurring theme: the more the rules tighten, the more you should invest in the fundamentals—distinctiveness, distribution, and a clear message that survives platform changes.

If you’re adjusting to the UK junk food ad ban (or any similar restriction in your category), start small: rewrite your brief, recut your creative, and rebuild measurement around real brand effects.

Where do you feel the squeeze most right now—creative approvals, targeting limits, or measuring what’s actually working?