Freddo Frog adverts banned for breaching junk food rules

Adverts for Cadbury’s Freddo chocolate bar have been banned for breaking rules designed to limit children’s exposure to junk food.

A Cadbury's Freddo poster Picture: ASA/PA Wire

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated complaints that a poster, seen on a bus stop near a primary school, two YouTube videos and a downloadable comic and audio book called The Missing Hop, featuring imagery of Freddo the Frog, were ads for products high in fat, salt or sugar and directed at children.

Mondelez, trading as Cadbury, argued that the books were not ads for the product, did not include any Cadbury branding or the Freddo name in the title, and were intended to be read by parents while not being directly targeted at children. The ASA said the proximity of the poster to the school was likely to mean that the ad’s audience was significantly skewed towards under-16’s, concluding the website, its promotions page, the comic and audio books and the two YouTube videos were all ads for the product.