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Official Rulings At-A-Glance Your quick-reference monthly compliance digest for brands, agencies, creators, and influencers. Headline Cases & Key Takeaways 1. Domino's Pizza, Mars (M&M's) & Morley's — Less Healthy Food (LHF) Restrictions The Issue: A fresh batch of formal rulings tested the boundaries of the online and pre-9pm Less Healthy Food advertising restrictions, focusing particularly on identifiable products and brand characters. The Ruling: Mixed (Domino's Not Uphe

Your quick-reference monthly compliance digest for brands, agencies, creators, and influencers. Headline Cases & Key Takeaways 1. Jaded London — Social Responsibility & Implicit Glamorisation The Issue: An email marketing campaign featured a model standing beside a scooter near water wearing fashion pieces while holding what the ASA interpreted to be a lit cigarette. The Ruling: Upheld. Breached CAP Code Rule 1.3 (Social Responsibility). Key Takeaway: Watch your implicit

Building strong relationships: A handshake representing consumer trust as the essential foundation. In a saturated media landscape, attention is difficult to capture - but trust is exponentially harder to earn. Brands invest millions into creative ideas, high-production Prime-Time TV spots, and influencer partnerships to secure a slice of consumer awareness whilst feasting on the pie of their benefits. Yet, in an era dominated by AI-generated content, hyper-personalised targ

Welcome to the May 2026 edition of the AdKnow Ruling Roundup. This month, we break down the most significant ASA enforcement actions affecting UK influencer marketing - including the first-ever rulings under the new 'less healthy food and drink' advertising restrictions, updated non-compliance sanctions, and key disclosure cases, with each ruling including a practical takeaway you can apply to your own content. CASE 1: First LHF (Less Healthy Food) Enforcement Rulings (April

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has significantly escalated its tech-driven monitoring and structural enforcement. If you are leading a talent or influencer agency, the "wild west" era of minor slaps on the wrist is firmly over. The June 2026 ruling roundup highlights the critical shifting dynamics, the specific compliance traps triggering enforcement, and how to pitch your agency's compliance value to protective brands. The Red Flags: High-Risk Verticals in Ju

A question with major consequences for advertisers... When is a diamond not a diamond? It sounds like a riddle, but this week it became a serious regulatory question. Two ASA rulings have put the spotlight on how laboratory-grown diamonds are marketed and, more importantly, on what consumers are told before they buy. Following complaints about their adverts, Novita Diamonds Ltd and Linjer were both investigated for presenting synthetic diamonds as if they were natural. The AS

The Ad That Started It All In January 2026, a paid Facebook ad for DanceBit appeared in my Facebook feed. It showed animated characters dancing, promised benefits from muscle strength to stress relief, and carried a bold, eye-catching claim: "IT'S FREE NOW”. To the average consumer scrolling past, the message was clear. Start dancing today, pay nothing. Except that wasn't true. When I eagerly clicked through the link on the ad, hoping to take advantage of this, now free o

The disconnect between laboratory standards and kitchen-table expectations and how it affects your messaging in advertising. The Chemistry World Daily Newsletter recently explored how substantiation serves as the keystone of compliance—a principle that remains technically true. Yet in a world where black and white increasingly merge to grey, even the most rigorous standards contain muddy waters. The composting cases expose this perfectly: laboratory benchmarks that permit 9

Discover why transparent, compliant content often outperforms "growth hacks" - and how understanding platform rules and advertising regulations can actually boost your visibility instead of limiting your creativity. The Fear Every Creator Knows You wake up, reach for your phone, and check your overnight numbers. Zero. Not just low - flatlined. Your latest post, the one you spent three hours perfecting, has barely reached 10% of your usual audience. Your Stories views have

When launching a new business, the pressure to be everything to everyone is intense. Overwhelming at times, and hard to ignore. There's a persistent myth that successful founders are polymaths - people who seamlessly juggle marketing, finance, operations, and product development while somehow maintaining perfect work-life balance. But here's the counterintuitive truth that separates sustainable businesses from burnout statistics: knowing your limitations isn't a liability; it

Why the blurred lines between personal content and paid promotion are becoming a regulatory—and ethical—battleground. Let me set the scene. ..You ’re scrolling through TikTok at midnight. A creator you follow is having a typically rough Tuesday—spilled coffee, messy bun, "just keeping it real" vibes. They sigh, reach for a skincare product, and mention, almost offhand, that it’s the only thing getting them through the week. It feels like a moment of genuine connection. What y

Starting a training and consultancy business is like climbing a mountain – the view from the top is breathtaking, but nobody tells you about the blisters along the way. It was 3 months into building the Training courses when I realised, I hadn’t had a full weekend to myself since I started…which just wasn’t sustainable. It got me thinking about the challenges I’ve faced, the tips and tricks I’ve found that make me efficient, but, most importantly, I started thinking about why