What are the UK rules on advertising to children?
Marketing to children in the UK is tightly restricted: ads must not directly urge children to buy or to nag their parents, must not exploit their inexperience or credulity, and face extra limits on HFSS food, age-restricted products, and data collection from under-18s.
What's the rule on pressure and "pester power"?
Ads must not directly exhort children to buy a product or to ask their parents or others to buy it for them — "ask your mum" framing is both a CAP breach and a banned practice under consumer law. They must not exaggerate what a product can do or exploit children's trust.
What are the product and placement limits?
HFSS products face advertising restrictions in children's media and around content appealing to under-16s. Age-restricted products (alcohol, gambling, vaping) must not be directed at or strongly appeal to under-18s — which limits style and characters, not just targeting. Many sectors bar people who are or look under 25 from significant roles.
What about data and design?
Collecting data from under-18s engages the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code, with high-privacy defaults expected for services likely to be accessed by children.
FAQ
- Can ads tell children to ask their parents to buy something?
- No — direct exhortation to buy or to nag is prohibited.
- What counts as "appealing to children"?
- Content, style, characters and scheduling likely to attract under-18s — broader than just targeting.
- Are there extra data rules for kids?
- Yes — the Age Appropriate Design Code sets standards for services likely accessed by children.
Clearance flags kids-appeal risks across HFSS, alcohol, gambling and vaping copy.
Related rules
- HFSS advertising rules: what UK food marketers can and can't do nowThe UK's restrictions on advertising less-healthy food and drink — what counts as HFSS, what the online and TV rules restrict, and what marketers can still do.
- What are the UK rules for prize draws and competitions?Running a giveaway or competition in the UK? The significant conditions you must state, free-entry rules, and what gets ads banned.
- Are social media posts covered by UK advertising rules?Organic posts, paid social and Stories — when your social content becomes a regulated ad and what that means.
This article is general information about publicly available UK advertising rules, not legal advice. Rules change — always check the current codes at source or take professional advice before publishing. Clearance is an independent tool and is not affiliated with the ASA or CAP.