The HFSS ban on unhealthy-food ads online and on TV before the 9pm watershed has been confirmed by the government, with the new measures set to take effect from 2023. The HFSS ban refers to foods high in fat, sugar and salt, with foods that score four or more and drinks that score one or more on the Department of Health’s Nutrient Profiling Model are classed as HFSS. Despite the crackdown, several exceptions have been reported on that may affect the roll out of the legislation. Small and medium businesses will be exempt from the ban, with those employing 249 or fewer employees permitted to advertise HFSS products. Additionally brand-only advertising – meaning ads that do not feature any HFSS products – will not be affected.  Learn more about it here.

Clear Channel has announced its new programme to encourage startup companies to use its sites, as the UK economy begins to emerge from lockdown. The first brands to participate in the Out of home (OOH) programme are natural energy drink Tenzing and on-demand grocery delivery service Weezy. The Clear Start campaign will offer free creative and production services for startups, and match OOH media investment pound-for-pound in the first year. Read more about it here.

Mastercard have announced its five-year founding partnership with World Rugby, to promote the development of the Women in Rugby programme. The ‘Women in Rugby Team Powered’ marketing campaign aims to inspire more women and girls to participate in and watch the sport, and Mastercard will be exclusive partner of the ‘Youth Unstoppables’, involving digital content championing inspirational females around the world. Learn more about it here.

Three UK has brought together it’s Chelsea FC and Gogglebox for its support of the latest series of Celebrity Gogglebox. Three’s two-year, multimillion pound sponsorship of Gogglebox is the brand’s largest ever TV sponsorship. While the shirt sponsorship of Chelsea marked a shift in the brand’s marketing strategy to attract a wider audience. The idents show Chelsea players Mason Mount, Reece James and Timo Werner watching Gogglebox on their mobiles while they train and relax. The most recent series of Gogglebox attracted an average of six million viewers per episodes and is the second-highest audience volume driver for a 9pm Channel show on a Friday night, behind only the Friends finale in May 2004. Check it out here.

Finally, members of the Boutique media team attended an insightful webinar by Leadfamly on why gamification is key to driving business results. Leadfamly enables marketers to design, launch, and tack game campaigns to drive campaign performance. Leadfamly shared its findings on how gamification works to engage with users via behavioural economics, exploring how games can influence us as humans and as a result create positive associations with brands.