Festive advertising from the major supermarkets has long been a showcase of creative brand storytelling. And this year is no exception; with Sainsbury's recruiting the BFG, Dawn French's fairy alter ego unleashing M&S merriment on the motorway and Asda rolling out a bargain hunting Grinch.

But among the much-loved characters, the tales of seasonal cheer, and the only slightly jarring centring of grocery delivery services, one thing is missing: the stereotypically unrealistic shot of a mince pie, divided in two, oozing its filling onto a platter (seriously, who cuts their mince pie in half?)

In fact, aside from the occasional blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of what could possibly be a mince pie these seasonal treats seem to have disappeared altogether.

Who ate all the pies?

On 5 January 2026, new regulations finally come into force restricting the advertising of food and drink categorised as 'less healthy' to UK consumers. But brands have been gearing up for this for a while – not only because the regulations have been long trailed and several times delayed, but also because many advertisers, publishers and broadcasters agreed to comply with the restrictions voluntarily, from the originally planned implementation date, back in October.

The restrictions have come about due to Government efforts to tackle childhood obesity by reducing children's exposure to marketing messages about 'less healthy' foods. They impose:

  • a 9pm cut off point on live television and video on demand advertising for food and drink products which are identifiable in the ad and categorised as 'less healthy'; and
  • a complete ban on online advertising for identifiable 'less healthy' food products in paid-for space.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will begin to enforce these rules as from 5 January and – due to the 3-month voluntary compliance period – many brands will be well-prepared. But areas of concern and uncertainty remain:

  • the finalised guidance from the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which illustrates the likely approach of the ASA, as the frontline regulator enforcing the new rules, has only just been published (on 4 December), and advertisers are scrambling to review and assess the impact on their new year advertising plans;
  • while – after some back and forth – 'brand advertising' (as opposed to advertising that depicts an identifiable less healthy food or drink product) is exempted from the new rules and the guidance provides some clues, it remains to be seen where the ASA will draw the line on when a 'less healthy' food or drink product is 'identifiable' for the purpose of the restrictions;
  • many food and beverage brands remain concerned about the impact on their influencer marketing, since a lot of activity is likely to be caught by the ban on online advertising, in paid-for media.

Next steps for legal teams

Brands - unless they are exempt as SMEs - may need to pivot now in light of the new guidance and then again as the ASA's approach to enforcement of the new rules emerges through complaint rulings. If the past is any clue, the ASA will likely move fast with some test cases, and it is well placed to do so – as, like the brands it has had three months to prepare. More generally, its use of AI-based Active Ad Monitoring tools, means that it can automatically screen millions of ads online – it no longer needs to wait to receive a complaint.

So, the picture is still evolving, and brands should stay up to date and seek clearance advice where the line is not yet clear. However, for those that are less keen to push the boundaries, there are options:

  • diverting spend to media not caught by the new restrictions, such as print and out of home (while not forgetting the existing rules on placement and content of high fat salt or sugar food advertising, which continue to apply across media);
  • focusing on products within their portfolios that are not classified as high fat, salt or sugar or fall outside the listed categories of 'less healthy' foods; or
  • shifting to a brand-led advertising approach, relying on customers' existing knowledge of their product offerings to fill in the gaps.

Over the longer term, of course, product reformulation is a possibility.

So, where have the mince pies gone?

'Desserts and puddings, including pies, tarts and flans' fall within less healthy food category 9 and are therefore caught by the new restrictions, if they are classified as high in fat, salt or sugar according to the Government nutrient profiling model. They are no longer a focus of festive ads because the supermarkets, and the broadcasters, and the pre-clearance body for TV ads, Clearcast, are voluntarily complying with the new restrictions. Next year, we may not even get a fleeting glimpse of dried fruit and brandy filled pastry, depending on how the ASA approaches the question of identifiability.

Meanwhile, someone at Aldi is probably patting themselves on the back – their Christmas mascot is literally a carrot.