Domino's Pizza is set to become the first casualty of Ofcom's new advertising restrictions, admitting it is "highly likely" to scrap its long-running sponsorship of The Simpsons.

The pizza brand's almost decade-long sponsorship of the show on Sky One has been widely credited with driving the success of the company in the UK.

"Domino's has always been clear and consistent in its policy of never marketing directly to children in any of its communication channels," the company said in a statement. "Nevertheless, the Ofcom ruling which bans the advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar to under-16s, will necessitate a refocus of some elements of the marketing strategy, in particular, a likely withdrawal from our sponsorship of The Simpsons on Sky One."

The company also has a seven-week sponsorship deal of The Simpsons on Channel 4. It comes to an end in December.

In a recent interview the chief operating officer of Domino's, Chris Moore, said the Simpsons sponsorship had taken the company to a "new level" with 98% brand awareness in the UK and Ireland.

Sales per store - there are 428 franchised outlets in the UK and Ireland - have grown by 80% since the start of the sponsorship in 1997.

Domino's is set to spend around £12m on marketing this year and The Simpsons sponsorship is thought to be worth around £2m.

The pizza firm looks set to fall foul of Ofcom's advertising restriction that aims to stop advertisers with products high in fat, sugar and salt from being associated with shows that "particularly appeal" to under-16s.

Broadcasters will use an index to assess audience levels on each show and those that have a 20% higher proportion of under-16 viewers than the UK average will not be allowed to carry junk food advertisings.

"The Simpsons sponsorship now only accounts for a small percentage of Domino's total marketing spend and this money will be refocused on maximising communication to our core target audience of 18- to 34-year-olds, via alternative marketing platforms," the company added.

"Similarly, our TV advertising volumes are reducing as we seek to maximise new opportunities in the face of increasingly fragmented viewing habits. We are confident that enough channels to market remain to be exploited more fully, in particular we will be in a position to direct additional budget into our highly successful e-commerce platform."

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