Profitable insecurities: trade mark law, misleading advertising, and body image perceptions in the United Kingdom

Abstract This article critically examines how brand names, slogans, and logos registered as United Kingdom (UK) trade marks for weight management solutions, health‐boosting supplements, and cosmetics are used in marketing communications to influence consumer behaviour. The analysis addresses concerns that these trade signs potentially mislead consumers or negatively impact their body image perception through a comprehensive examination of consumer protection legislation, advertising rules, and the trade mark law provisions dealing with marketing communications in the UK. The article argues that there are compelling reasons why trade mark law should align with advertising regulations when evaluating the registrability of potentially deceptive, offensive, or illegal trade marks for health and beauty products. Otherwise, by preserving the status quo, which allows the registration of promotional content that exploits body image insecurities, trade mark law risks becoming part of the problem rather than a potential remedy against harmful body image rhetoric.