The youth-led campaign group analysed outdoor advertising across four locations in England and found:
- 77% of food and drink adverts in Newcastle were for high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products.
- HFSS ads were three times more likely to appear in the most deprived areas of Newcastle than the least deprived.
Luke, 19, a Bite Back youth campaigner from Newcastle, said: “When you live here, you see it every day — fast food ads everywhere. On the way to school, at the bus stop, outside the shop. It’s like big food companies have a louder voice than our communities do.
That’s why I joined Bite Back — because we’re flipping the script. We’re showing that young people aren’t just targets, we’re the ones fighting back. Newcastle deserves better than to be plastered in junk food ads.”
Bite Back highlighted the borough of Southwark in London, as evidence that local restrictions on junk food advertising work. The charity however, stressed that national action is needed to close the gaps. Following the Mayor of London’s Transport for London (TfL) HFSS ad ban in 2019, Southwark introduced its own policy and now has the lowest rate of HFSS advertising among the cities studied, at 38% of food adverts compared to 77% in Newcastle.
Bite Back pointed to TfL’s experience — showing no loss in advertising revenue since the restrictions were introduced — as proof that healthier advertising environments are possible without financial trade-offs. They say it’s now time for the Government to step in and apply the same standards to all outdoor spaces. Last year, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, sent a strong message to Big Food: enough is enough when it comes to children’s health, announcing a ban on junk food adverts across public transport in the region. But Bite Back’s latest research shows that local authorities can only go so far. Without national action, private advertising spaces remain unregulated, leaving young people exposed to constant junk food advertising.
Yesterday McGuinness underlined her commitment to stopping junk food advertising saying: “I’ve already said enough is enough to predatory junk food adverts targeting our children and young people on public transport. It’s alarming to see in Bite Back’s new campaign that some parts of the North East are worst affected, so I’m pleased they’re sending a clear message to junk food companies that this won’t be tolerated.”
Bite Back’s analysis of ad spend data showed that in 2024, food and drink companies spent over £400 million on street advertising. The top 10 spenders included McDonald’s, PepsiCo, KFC, Coca-Cola, Mars, Mondelez and Red Bull.
Nicki Whiteman, interim Chief Executive Officer, Bite Back said: “Our young activists operate on a tiny fraction of what Big Food has to spend on outdoor advertising but they are making a powerful point with this bold and characteristically courageous campaign to take on the might of the global companies.
“The changes we’re calling for are crucial for holding junk food companies accountable for the impact their marketing has on children’s health and shifting the balance of power from industry interests to policies that genuinely prioritise public health.”
The research highlights how major food companies are saturating these communities with unhealthy food ads, reinforcing health inequalities and driving food related ill health.
The study, which analysed outdoor advertising across Liverpool, Southwark (London), Birmingham, and Newcastle upon Tyne, found that nearly half (377, 44%) of all 859 outdoor ads captured were for food and drink. Of the 333 adverts featuring a food or drink product, the majority (190, 57%) featured at least one product high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS).
These are adverts located on surfaces including bus stops, billboards and telephone boxes.
In a bold response, Bite Back youth activists, backed by Impact on Urban Health, have secured billboards across London to block junk food adverts. They have placed 365 billboards in high-traffic areas such across Lambeth and Southwark, including London Bridge Station, with one clear message:
“We’ve bought this ad space so the junk food giants couldn’t – we’re giving kids a commercial break.”
The full report, with the policy recommendations can be found here.