Fast food franchise, Hungry Jacks, has come under fire for continuing to promote a kid’s meal with a toy, despite a recent ruling by the Advertising Standards Board (ASB) against doing so.

In August last year, a number of fast food outlets implemented the Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children, agreeing not to promote food or beverages that do not meet nutritional criteria in ads directly towards children under the age of 14. Advertising free toy offers for these meals is also prohibited.

A recent complaint by the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) about a Hungry Jack’s commercial promoting a Kids Club Meal consisting of three chicken nuggets, a bottle of water and a Sponge Bob Square Pants toy was upheld by the ASB, which requested that the franchise remove the ad.

Rather than removing the ad entirely, Hungry Jacks released a new advertisement for the same meal, which now comes with Simpsons collectable toys.

Jane Martin, senior policy adviser for the Obesity Policy Coalition said “Fast food advertisers are laughing in the faces of the self-regulatory regime and the ASB. They are not taking concerns about childhood obesity seriously. They have developed these so called self-regulatory initiatives to appear socially responsible, but they are not even complying with their own rules.”

“It’s time for the government to acknowledge that fast food advertisers cannot be trusted to do the right thing when it comes to our children’s health,” she said. “In this case commercial interests and children’s interests are not compatible.”