# What you can and can’t say about baby products on Instagram

> Baby ads are held to the strictest rules there are. Some products can’t be advertised at all.

**A first pass, not legal advice.** This playbook sets out the main rules for ads seen in the UK, as we read them on 7 November 2026. It is a starting point for briefing creators, not legal advice. Check your claims with your compliance lead or a lawyer before an ad runs.

## Say it’s an ad, up front

Paid or on commission, the post is an ad, and people have to know that before they tap or read on. Source: CAP 2, Influencer guidance.

Don’t say:

- Our bath time saviour \#gifted (Flagged by the #ad check, CAP 2)
- Couldn’t do nights without this \#sp (Flagged by the #ad check, CAP 2)

Say instead:

- \#ad Our bath time routine
- \#ad What gets us through the nights

Put \#ad at the start of the caption and turn on Instagram’s paid partnership label too. In Stories, label every frame the product is in.

## Infant formula can’t be advertised

Ads for infant formula, for babies under six months, aren’t allowed, and follow-on formula ads mustn’t look like them. Source: Infant formula rules, CAP 15.

Don’t say:

- Our first infant formula, link in bio. (Flagged by this rulebook, Infant formula rules, CAP 15)

## No medical claims for babies

Colic, teething pain and nappy rash are medical. Only a licensed medicine or approved medical device can claim to treat them. Source: CAP 12.

Don’t say:

- It cured her colic in two days. (Flagged by this rulebook, CAP 12)
- Stops teething pain. (Flagged by this rulebook, CAP 12)

Say instead:

- It’s what we use at bath time.

## Safety claims need proof

Safe, non-toxic and chemical free are claims. The brand holds the test results that back them, or they come out. Source: CAP 3.

Don’t say:

- 100% safe for newborns. (Flagged by this rulebook, CAP 3)
- Completely chemical free. (Flagged by this rulebook, CAP 3)
- Midwife recommended. (Flagged by this rulebook, CAP 3)

Say instead:

- It meets the toy safety standard, it says so on the box.

## Show children safely

Babies and children are shown as they’d really and safely be cared for, and children are never urged to ask for a product. Source: CAP 5.

Don’t say:

- A baby asleep face down beside the product (For your reviewer, CAP 5)
- Telling children to ask their parents for it (For your reviewer, CAP 5)

Say instead:

- Show it in use the way the instructions say

## Made with AI? Say so

AI-made people, results and testimonials need a label wherever a viewer would take them as real. Source: CAP 3.

Don’t say:

- An AI-made person giving a testimonial, with nothing to say so (For your reviewer, CAP 3)
- A result the product can’t give, made with AI (For your reviewer, CAP 3)

Say instead:

- Add a short on-screen line: “Made with AI”.

## The rulebook

Sign up as a brand and these lines go on every product you add, ready to edit. Creators see them with the brief, and every script is read against them when it comes in for review.

Lines creators may not say:

- Infant formula
- Colic or teething pain
- Cures, heals or treats any condition
- 100% safe
- Chemical free
- Midwife recommended

Lines creators may say:

- What we use at bath time

Disclosure: \#ad

[Use this rulebook](https://affilo.app/playbooks/baby/use)

## Sources

- [CAP Code section 2: recognition of marketing communications](https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/02.html): An ad must be obviously identifiable as an ad.
- [CAP Code section 3: misleading advertising](https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/03.html): Evidence for objective claims, testimonials, prices and edited images.
- [CAP Code section 5: children](https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/05.html): How children are shown in ads and how ads speak to them.
- [CAP Code section 12: medicines, medical devices, health-related and beauty products](https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/12.html): Medical claims, and what beauty and health products may say.
- [CAP Code section 15: food, food supplements and health or nutrition claims](https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/15.html): Nutrition claims, health claims and medicinal claims for food.
- [Regulation (EU) 2016/127 on infant and follow-on formula, as it applies in Great Britain](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2016/127/contents): Infant formula may not be advertised; follow-on formula ads may not look like it.
- [The ASA and CMA guide for influencers on making clear that ads are ads](https://www.asa.org.uk/resource/influencers-guide.html): Where \#ad goes, and which labels aren’t enough.

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Rules as read on 7 November 2026. Source: https://affilo.app/playbooks/baby
PDF: https://affilo.app/playbooks/baby/pdf