Advertising and Marketing Lawyers in London

What advertising and marketing law covers in the UK

Advertising lawyers in London help brands, agencies, platforms and publishers make claims that sell without breaching the rules. The work covers TV, radio, online, social media, influencer and outdoor campaigns, but also the less visible parts of marketing: pricing displays, reviews, checkout design, email and text marketing, promotions and prize draws, and comparisons with competitors.

UK advertising regulation has two layers. The self-regulatory layer is run by the Advertising Standards Authority, which applies the CAP Code to non-broadcast advertising and the BCAP Code to TV and radio. Behind it sits statute: consumer protection law enforced by the Competition and Markets Authority and Trading Standards, data rules enforced by the Information Commissioner, and sector rules for financial services, gambling, food, alcohol and medicines.

The balance between the layers shifted on 6 April 2025, when the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 gave the CMA power to decide consumer law breaches itself and fine businesses directly. Misleading advertising, hidden fees and fake reviews have moved from being mainly reputational problems to issues that can attract significant penalties.

A marketing question becomes a legal one at predictable points: when a new product or price structure launches, when a campaign makes comparative, environmental or health claims, when a competitor complains, when an influencer programme scales up, and when a regulator writes. Advertising lawyers in London are also brought in on transactions, where a target's marketing practices can carry hidden regulatory and redress liabilities.

The legal and regulatory framework

Advertising lawyers in London work across several regimes at once, because a single campaign can engage all of them. The table sets out the main ones.

The full CAP and BCAP Codes are published by the ASA, and the consumer provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 are on legislation.gov.uk.

The ASA and the advertising codes

The core rule in both codes is that marketing must not mislead, whether by what it says, what it implies or what it leaves out. Advertisers must hold documentary evidence to prove objective claims before the advertisement runs, not after a complaint. The codes also require marketing to be socially responsible and obviously identifiable as marketing, and contain detailed rules on prices, free offers, promotions, environmental claims, children and specific products.

Anyone can complain to the ASA, including competitors, and the ASA also monitors advertising proactively. Rulings are published, named and widely reported. The ASA cannot fine, but it can require an ad to be withdrawn, ask media owners and platforms to refuse further ads, place paid search ads naming the advertiser and refer persistent offenders to Trading Standards or, for broadcast, to Ofcom.

Influencers and social media

Influencer content is advertising if the brand has paid for it, in money or in kind, and has some control over it. It must then be clearly labelled as an ad, upfront. Brands are responsible for their influencers' posts and should contract for labelling, approval rights and takedown. The CMA takes the same view under consumer law, so poorly labelled posts can attract both regulators.

AI-generated advertising

In 2026 the ASA reminded advertisers that its rules apply however an ad is created. AI-generated imagery must not exaggerate a product's performance, deepfaked endorsements of real people are likely to mislead, and an advertiser remains responsible for ads produced by automated tools on ad platforms. Using a real person's likeness can also raise passing off and other legal claims outside the ASA's remit.

Consumer law enforcement under the DMCC Act

Part 4 of the DMCC Act replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 with a restated regime. It prohibits misleading actions, misleading omissions, aggressive practices and practices that contravene professional diligence, and it contains a list of commercial practices that are always unfair. Since 6 April 2025, the CMA can investigate, decide that the law has been broken, order redress to consumers and impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover.

The CMA has used the powers. By mid-2026 it had fined the AA and BSM Driving Schools £4.2 million over a booking fee not shown upfront, Marks Electrical £720,000 over pre-selected paid extras, and StubHub £889,200 over hidden fees, in each case after settlement discounts and alongside consumer refunds. It also fined Euro Car Parks £473,000 for failing to answer a statutory information notice, which shows that the procedural obligations carry real risk too.

Fake reviews, drip pricing and subscriptions

The DMCC Act expressly bans fake consumer reviews and concealed incentivised reviews, and requires businesses that publish reviews to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent fake ones. It also targets drip pricing: mandatory fees must be included in the headline price. Our articles on fake reviews and drip pricing and on DMCC Act enforcement explain the rules in more detail. A separate subscription contracts regime, with new pre-contract information, reminder and cancellation duties, is expected to commence in 2027; see our guide to the subscription contracts rules.

The CMA's first fines did not concern exotic practices. They concerned booking fees added at checkout and boxes ticked by default, which are exactly the details marketing and product teams change most often.

Sector rules and restricted products

Advertising lawyers in London spend much of their time on products where general rules are not enough. Each of the following has its own regime.

Less healthy food and drink

Since 5 January 2026, advertising of identifiable less healthy food and drink products has been banned on TV and on-demand services between 5.30am and 9pm, and paid-for online advertising of those products has been banned outright. Products are caught if they fall within specified categories and are classed as high in fat, salt or sugar under the government's nutrient profiling model. Food and drink businesses with fewer than 250 employees are exempt, and brand advertising that does not show an identifiable product falls outside the rules. The ASA's guidance explains how it applies them.

Financial promotions

Under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, a person must not communicate an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity unless it is made or approved by an authorised person or an exemption applies. Breach is a criminal offence and can make resulting agreements unenforceable. Firms that approve others' promotions need FCA permission to do so, and qualifying cryptoasset promotions are within the regime. The FCA's financial promotions pages set out its expectations, and our article on the financial promotions regime explains them.

Gambling, alcohol, medicines and green claims

Gambling ads must comply with Gambling Commission licence conditions and the CAP and BCAP gambling rules, which restrict content likely to appeal strongly to under-18s. Alcohol marketing is governed by the codes and, for naming and packaging, the Portman Group's code. Prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to the public at all. Environmental claims must be clear, accurate and substantiated across the whole product life cycle where relevant, as our article on greenwashing and green claims explains.

Direct marketing and cookies

Electronic marketing by email and text to individuals generally needs prior consent, unless the soft opt-in for existing customers applies. Non-essential cookies and similar technologies need consent, subject to exceptions extended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which also raises maximum fines under PECR to UK GDPR levels. The ICO's direct marketing guidance and our article on cookies and PECR cover the detail.

Clearing a campaign: a practical process

Advertising lawyers in London are most useful before the media is booked. A proportionate clearance process catches the issues that lead to complaints and enforcement.

1. Brief and audience. Identify the product, the media, the target audience and any restricted category or vulnerable group, such as children.
2. Claims list. Extract every objective claim, express or implied, including comparisons, prices, savings, environmental and health claims.
3. Substantiation. Collect evidence for each claim before launch, and check it supports the claim as consumers will understand it.
4. Price and journey review. Check headline prices include mandatory fees, that offers are genuine and that the checkout has no pre-ticked paid extras.
5. Third-party rights. Clear trade marks, music, images, talent and any references to competitors or real people, including AI-generated likenesses.
6. Channel rules. Apply broadcast clearance where needed, platform policies, influencer labelling and PECR consent for direct marketing.
7. Sign-off and record. Record who approved what and why, and keep the evidence file for the life of the campaign.

Documents and evidence to keep

When a complaint arrives, the ASA and CMA both expect evidence that existed when the ad ran. Keep:

• the final creative and every version that ran, with dates and media;
• a claims matrix linking each claim to its evidence, such as test reports, surveys and pricing data;
• price history supporting any savings or reference prices;
• influencer contracts, briefs and approval records;
• consent records for marketing lists and cookie consent logs;
• legal and clearance advice, and decisions taken on it.

Risks and common mistakes

The cross-border angle: Bangladesh, the EU, the Gulf and Asia

UK rules apply to marketing aimed at UK consumers, wherever the advertiser is based. That matters for overseas businesses targeting the British-Bangladeshi community, such as property developers, education agents, remittance services and investment schemes. A Bangladeshi developer advertising flats to UK residents must meet UK consumer law and the CAP Code, and an investment opportunity promoted to UK residents may be a financial promotion requiring approval under section 21.

The reverse is also true. UK brands marketing in Bangladesh must comply with local law, including the Consumer Rights Protection Act 2009, which prohibits false or misleading advertising, as well as sector rules on medicines, food and finance. TRW & Co's Dhaka office advises on the Bangladesh side of campaigns that run in both countries.

Campaigns across Europe must meet the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive as implemented in each member state and, on large platforms, the advertising transparency duties in the EU Digital Services Act. Gulf states impose their own media licensing and content rules, including for influencers, and Singapore and China each have distinct advertising regimes. TRW & Co's offices in Dubai, Singapore and China can coordinate local review so that one campaign concept can be adapted lawfully for each market.

Within the UK, the ASA codes apply across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but enforcement routes and courts differ: Scotland has its own court system and Trading Standards structure, so legal proceedings there follow Scottish procedure. Advertising lawyers in London advising on UK-wide campaigns should check where any enforcement or competitor claim would be brought.

How our advertising lawyers in London help

We advise brands, agencies, platforms and investors on campaigns, compliance programmes and disputes, drawing on our consumer protection, data protection and financial services regulation teams.

Checklist for decision-makers

• Do we hold evidence for every objective claim in live campaigns, dated before launch?
• Do headline prices include all mandatory fees, and are any paid extras pre-selected?
• How do we prevent and remove fake reviews on our own channels?
• Are influencer posts clearly labelled, and do our contracts give us control?
• Have we assessed whether any product is caught by the less healthy food rules?
• Is any of our marketing a financial promotion, and who approves it?
• Do our email, text and cookie practices meet PECR consent requirements?
• Who responds if we receive an ASA complaint or a CMA information notice?

Advertising lawyers in London can review a campaign or a whole marketing programme. To discuss your position, contact our London office at Holborn Gate, 330 High Holborn, London WC1V 7QH, or browse our full list of practice areas.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and official materials

1. ASA: the advertising codes — CAP and BCAP Codes
2. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 — Consumer protection and CMA powers
3. Competition and Markets Authority — Consumer law enforcement
4. ASA: rules and guidance for less healthy food and drink advertising — Restrictions from 5 January 2026
5. FCA: financial promotions and adverts — Section 21 FSMA regime
6. ICO: direct marketing and PECR — Email, text and cookie rules
7. Gambling Commission — Gambling licensing and advertising conditions

General information only, current as at 21 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor–client relationship. It reflects the law of England and Wales unless stated otherwise; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems, and the law changes frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.