Bite Back

Can you even imagine that number? 🤯 15,000,000,000 A YEAR! That’s a lot of zeros…and a lot of junk food ads. But it doesn’t have to be this way, so we’re BITING BACK. Our anti-advertising campaign has been taking over space at family attractions across the UK this summer, so junk food giants can’t. Have you seen our ads out and about yet? 👀

This is such an important campaign! At Bite Back one of our values is fresh so we're taking a new, bold approach to highlight that we need to take junk food out of the spotlight for children. Young people are bombarded by junk food advertising - from bus stops on the way to school, to billboards in shopping malls, to influencer promotions on their social media feeds. They are tired and want a break! We often hear that advertising does not work or that it's not targeted at children. Or that it's about market share and not just growing consumption. But the evidence base is strong - advertising works, it increases unhealthy food consumption and as our recent reports on child appealing marketing and our Advertising Standards Authority complaint showed, it is targeted at children. We've used the same techniques and channels as Big Food but with a different message to get the public, advertisers, food marketing execs and politicians thinking about what the alternative could look like. We want to tell a different story. We hope we can pause during this commercial break to think about what a better future could look like for our children. Impact on Urban Health The Jamie Oliver Group Food, Farming and Countryside Commission James Bethell Dr Dolly van Tulleken Nesta Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming Adfree Cities Anne Longfield CBE The Food Foundation Future Food Movement ShareAction Caroline Cerny Nicki Whiteman Elizabeth Lowell Rory Gibson Obesity Health Alliance Chris Gee

HUGE news: we’re taking over Westfield Shopping Centre! 🎉 And we're not stopping there—we've secured a gigantic billboard right at its heart for the summer holidays, ensuring the junk food giants can't get their hands on it. 😎 This summer, we're going BIGGER and BOLDER than ever with our anti-advertising campaign, taking over some of the busiest spots across the UK. We’ve pulled out all the stops—claiming space at service stations, the famous Bullring in Birmingham, and spreading our message through radio, podcasts, and music with audio ads. For this week and next, catch us on the billboards at Westfield White City and Stratford. Why focus on ads? From the moment we’re born, we’re relentlessly targeted—every second of every day. Even during the summer holidays, children aren’t safe from the onslaught of junk food ads... and we’ve had enough! We’re stepping up to give kids a commercial break. If you spot one of our billboards, snap a pic and tag us! Help us spread the word and protect the health of a generation. 💪

Good news klaxon 📣 Yesterday, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced they will uphold a ruling against a Just Eat advertisement served to a 15-year-old on social media. The ASA found that Just Eat, the giant online food delivery service, had failed to adequately protect children from exposure to junk food advertising on social media, reinforcing the urgent need for stronger regulations to safeguard young people from unhealthy food marketing. 🍔 What happened? In December 2023, a young Bite Back activist was served a Facebook ad from Just Eat promoting McDonald's products including a Big Mac and McMuffins—items classified as high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS). The ad breached the rules intended to shield children from unhealthy food advertising. 💪 Why does it matter? Yesterday’s ASA ruling announcement confirms that Just Eat failed to take adequate precautions to avoid targeting children.. This ruling underscores the urgent need for stronger regulations to curb the online bombardment of junk food ads aimed at children. Research shows that children in the UK are exposed to 15 billion junk food adverts online each year. James Toop, CEO of Bite Back comments: “Teenagers typically have social media feeds stuffed with junk food adverts - it’s their cultural wallpaper online. With new tough regulations coming in next year it looks like food giants are doing their best to ensure their junk food ads reach as many young people as possible. This is why we need the new Government to lay the legislation to ensure the vital new rules are not delayed any further.” Read the full announcement on The Guardian 👇 https://lnkd.in/e-VhU5jx

Youth + Power = Youth Power! ✊ We're buzzing with inspiration after an AWESOME weekend with our young activists at our annual residential trip. From engaging workshops and creative craftivism to heartfelt storytelling, we mapped out OUR (!) vision for a future free from the influence of junk food giants—talk about a power boost! 🌟 Plus, we squeezed in plenty of fun and games because hey, it’s the summer holidays after all! 🎉 P.S. Yes, we've got bucket hats now! 😎 P.P.S. Who's ready for our big announcement TOMORROW? 👀 📸 David Madden

Around a quarter of what we eat comes from the out-of-home sector - restaurants, cafes, fast food joints 🍽️ This food tends to be bigger in portion size and higher in sugar, salt and fat❗ Unlike the food we buy in supermarkets, it's hard to know how healthy different menu options are, and this lack of transparency means outlets have no incentive to make their food healthier. We worked with other NGOs on a new report to look at different ways to assess how nutritious OOH food is. Check it out 👇 https://bit.ly/4cpOshB Action on Salt | Action on Sugar | World Action on Salt, Sugar and Health, Nesta, Queen Mary University of London, Obesity Health Alliance, ShareAction.

It’s time for a BIG break from BIG food❗️ Families are bombarded by junk food ads every day of their lives, and we’ve ad enough. So, we’re claiming back ad spaces this summer where giant food companies would usually be. Keep your eyes peeled for big things to come! 👀 And, if you want to keep up to date on how you can get involved, JOIN THE MOVEMENT by signing up to our newsletter - https://bb2030.co/i1o4

Happy International Youth Day! 🥳 Shoutout to all the incredible young activists out there—from our Youth Board and Bite Back in Schools participants to everyone fighting for a better world. 🌍 You’re not just the leaders of tomorrow; you’re the leaders of TODAY! Go, Youth Power! 💪✨

It was a pleasure to join our Obesity Health Alliance colleagues in meeting the new Public Health and Prevention Minister, Andrew Gwynne. We were thrilled to be there to represent youth voices 💪 We are encouraged by the Government’s commitment to child health and looking forward to seeing how their ambition to create the healthiest generation of children in the UK unfolds. We will continue sharing young people’s experiences along the way 😎

Change is possible, and we have our eyes on you. 👀 Bite Back activists Molly and Dev went out with a bang at the latest The Consumer Goods Forum, challenging the biggest food companies to prioritise child health! Now, it's up to these companies to take action. Will they rise to the challenge? We'll be watching! 🌟 Watch the full video as it happened 👉 https://bit.ly/3YkJYWd #Nutrition #YouthActivism #ChildHealth