Morley’s Woking reprimanded by Advertising Standards Authority for breaching HFSS rules

Morley’s Woking has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for breaching the government’s HFSS ad restrictions.

 

On 5 January, the government introduced a blanket ban on paid-for online advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), as well as a ban on television broadcast advertising of “less healthy” food and drink between 5.30pm and 9pm.

 

The advertising watchdog deemed that a paid-for Instagram ad from the Surrey chicken shop, which promoted two meal deals consisting of burgers, chicken wings, nuggets, fries and Pepsi, seen on the social media platform on 16 February, breached HFSS rules.

 

Morley’s Woking, which operated as a franchisee for Morley’s (Fast Foods), said it had not been aware of the specific restrictions regarding the advertising of “less healthy” foods, but that it removed the ad and deactivated all of its social media accounts after being alerted to the complaint.

 

The chicken shop added it “did not have information” to confirm if the entire franchise network was considered a small or medium enterprise (SME).

 

Had Morley’s been an SME, which it was later confirmed not to have been, the business would have been exempt from HFSS restrictions.

 

After the franchisor Morley’s was contacted by the ASA of the incident, it told all franchisees to remove local social media accounts and stated all ads would be approved by the parent company in future.

 

The first Morley’s opened in London’s Sydenham in 1985.

 

Iona Silverman, partner specialising in consumer, advertising and marketing law at Freeths, said: “These latest ASA rulings are a timely reminder that the new less healthy food advertising restrictions are now being actively enforced. The rules are far more nuanced than many businesses realise and apply not only to traditional food advertising, but also to influencer campaigns, paid online media and brand-led marketing that features identifiable products. Brands should not assume that an advert is compliant simply because its primary purpose is to promote the business rather than a specific product.

 

"It was notable that the M&M characters constitute indefinable less healthy foods (!) and that Dominos and KFC sell foods that don’t fall into the “less healthy” category. Businesses marketing food and drink products should not make assumptions: they need to understand whether their products fall within the ‘less healthy food’ regime and seek advice if they are unsure about the brand exemption. The cost of getting it wrong can be significant from both a regulatory and reputational perspective.”