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| Media Studies Revision: Print-Based
Advertising |
Advertising Regulation
Advertising Standards Authority
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was set up in 1962 as
an organization independent of both the advertising industry and
the government, to make sure that all advertisements that appear
in the UK are legal, decent, honest and truthful.
The ASA is funded by money spent on all advertising in magazines
and newspapers, on posters and sent through the post. Advertisers
pay a levy of £1 for every £1000 spent on advertising.
British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion
These codes say what is and what is not accepted in advertisements.
They were drawn up by the advertising industry itself and has
two main aims:
- To make advertisers take responsibility for backing up the
claims they make for their products in their advertisements
- To avoid causing offence.
The codes are monitered by the Committee of Advertising Practice,
which works alongside the ASA. The codes are in addition to the
120 laws passed that apply directly and indirectly to advertising.
The codes include a set of general rules that apply to all published
advertisements. These rules are based on the following principles:
- All advertisements should be legal, decent, honest
and truthful.
- All advertisements should be prepared with a sense
of responsibility towards consumers and society.
- All advertisers should respect the principle of fair competition
generally accepted by business.
- No advertisements should bring advertising into disrepute.
- Advertisements must conform to advertising codes. Primary
responsibility for observing the codes falls on the advertisers
and everyone involved in the production of the advertisements
should be aware of and abide these codes.
Issues such as decency, truthfulness, safety, depiction of violence,
privacy, guarantees and political bias are all covered in the general
rules.
The codes also contain a number of rules relating to specific categories
of advertising, including alcoholic drinks, cars, medicines, etc.
They all cover advertising relating to children and the environment.
There is a separate code for cigarette adverts.
Monitoring
Advertising
Only cigarette adverts have to be cleared before they are published.
However, thousands of advertisers seek advice and guidance from
the ASA on advert content.
The ASA carries out its own regular surveys of adverts in the press,
on posters and on adverts sent through the post. In addition, the
ASA’s research department keeps a watch on adverts in areas
of particular concern, such as medicines and slimming products.
If the ASA decides an advertisement is unacceptable because it is
misleading or likely to cause offence, the advertisers are told
to remove it. Failure to do so can lead to the following:
- Bad publicity generated by the report that the ASA sends
round of its judgements;
- Suspension or withdrawal of trading privileges or financial
incentives, or the refusal of publishers to sell space to advertisers;
- A court appearance, if the advertisers are referred to the
Office of Trading by the ASA for refusing to abide by the codes
Nearly a thousand complaints were received about an advertisement
for Opium perfume, which used a naked photograph of the model Sophie
Dahl. Many complaints said that the advertisement was offensive
to women and unsuitable for display in a public place. The ASA ordered
that the advertisement be removed from billboards but ruled it was
acceptable in magazines and newspapers. |
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