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Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice[2] broadly reflects legislation in many instances. The ASA is not funded by the British government, but by a levy on the advertising industry.

Abbreviation

ASA

Advertising regulator

Castle House, 37–45 Paul Street, Shoreditch, London[1]

United Kingdom

Guy Parker

ASA Council and Board

Its role is to "regulate the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK" by investigating "complaints made about ads, sales promotions or direct marketing", and deciding whether such advertising complies with its advertising standards codes.[3] These codes stipulate that "before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation" and that "no marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise".[4][5] The agency has also restricted ads featuring scantily clad women.[6]


Guy Parker has been chief executive of the ASA since June 2009.[7]

History[edit]

In 1961 the Advertising Association established the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) to draft the British Code of Advertising Practice (the CAP Code). In 1962 the industry set up the Advertising Standards Authority (so named even though it is not a public authority in the usual sense) to adjudicate on complaints that advertisements had breached the new Code. The ASA operated under an independent chairman who was to have no vested interest within the industry.


Not long after the inception of the ASA the Molony Committee considered but rejected proposals to introduce a system to regulate the advertising industry by statute. The Committee reported that it was satisfied that the industry could be regulated effectively from within by the ASA. A guarded comment within the report, however, warned that the self-regulatory system depended upon the satisfactory working of the ASA and the maintaining of acceptable standards.[8]

Remit[edit]

Print media[edit]

Typically, advertisements that fall in paid-for spaces in newspapers (both national and regional) and magazines published in the UK fall within the ASA's remit. This category covers reciprocal arrangements not involving actual payments of money. Advertorials are also within the bodies remit as long as a reciprocal arrangement of some kind is in place and control over the content of the advertorial lies with the advertiser. If the editor of the publication maintains control over the advertorial, however, the piece is likely to be seen as editorial rather than advertising.

Broadcast media[edit]

In November 2004, control of the regulation of broadcast advertising, formerly undertaken by state bodies, was handed over to the ASA on a provisional two-year contract. Sponsorship credits are considered to be part of programming content and therefore fall outside the ASA's remit. Claims on shopping channels can generally be considered by the ASA, but complaints about non-delivery of items are unlikely to be taken up by the ASA unless there is evidence that the shopping channel has misled people or that the non-delivery is a widespread problem.

Direct marketing[edit]

Direct mailings, circulars, leaflets, unsolicited emails, brochures and catalogues are all typically within the ASA's remit. Items such as timetables and price lists are, however, usually outside its remit. Private correspondence, such as a doctor's letter or a bill, is also outside its remit, though a leaflet included with the private correspondence would be covered if it promotes a new or different product.

Internet[edit]

The ASA's remit has since March 2011 covered claims that appear on a company's own website,[9] as well as covering claims that appear in paid-for spaces on the Internet, including pop up ads, banner ads and sponsored links. The non-geographical nature of the Internet can make it hard to determine whether the ASA's remit applies. Online sales promotions (see below) are within the ASA's remit as long as they appear in "British web space".

Sales promotions[edit]

The Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP), working to the same code as the ASA, can refer complaints to the ASA when it believes that there has been a breach of the rules on sales promotions rules. There has been no clear definition of what a sales promotion is for the purpose of the code, but examples include:

Governance[edit]

The ASA is governed by its board of directors, appointed upon recommendation of an independent appointments committee. The ASA Council is appointed by the board.

Funding[edit]

The Broadcast Advertising Standards Board Of Finance (BASBOF) collects a voluntary levy on advertising costs, typically 0.1% on display advertising costs (e.g. 0.1% of the cost of placing a television advertisement). BASBOF passes the funds on to the ASA anonymously to ensure that the ASA are unaware of who has contributed to its funding. This avoids the question of money influencing the ASA's decision in its rulings.

Additional evidence (if it is the advertiser that has brought additional evidence to bear, it must explain why the evidence was not available during the investigation)

Substantial flaw in either the ASA Council's adjudication or the investigation

Sanctions[edit]

Bad publicity[edit]

The ASA publishes weekly adjudications on its website every Wednesday. For social media influencers who routinely fail to clearly disclose when they are advertising, the ASA can publish their details for up to three months and run its own targeted adverts on social media to make users aware of this.[10]

Copy Advice[edit]

The ASA can order advertisers not to advertise unless the CAP Copy Advice team has seen the advertisement first and allowed the advertisement to go ahead. For example, the ASA told French Connection UK Ltd, which makes the FCUK branded clothing, to have all its advertisements pre-vetted by the CAP Copy Advice team.

CAP Compliance Team[edit]

The CAP Compliance Team is the enforcement arm of the ASA and CAP. The Compliance Team works to ensure that advertisers remove their problematic claims. The Compliance Team does not report back to complainants, nor does it publish the results of its work. However, part of its work does involve contacting media owners and telling them not to take any advertisements from problematic advertisers until the CAP Copy Advice team has pre-vetted the advertisements.

Trading Standards[edit]

The ASA can, as a last resort, refer advertisers to Trading Standards when they’re unwilling or unable to follow its rules. Trading Standards officers have statutory powers to apply a wide range of sanctions, including prosecution or other legal action. [11]

Ofcom[edit]

The ASA can also refer problematic broadcast advertisers to Ofcom, as well as video-on-demand providers and video-sharing platforms.[10] Broadcasters have ultimate responsibility for advertisements shown on their channels and are therefore directly answerable to Ofcom, their licensing authority. Ofcom has powers to fine or revoke licences. For example, following more than 1,000 complaints to the ASA about the shopping channel Auction World.tv, the ASA referred the matter to Ofcom, which found the company in breach of its licence and fined it. Auction World.tv ended up in administration and went out of business.

Noteworthy rulings[edit]

Apple Inc.[edit]

Apple has been involved in two major rulings by the ASA; its claim to be selling "the world's fastest personal computer" in 2004, its Power Mac G5 system, was judged to be unsubstantiated. The complaints against two other claims made in advertising for the product were not upheld.[12] Later, in August 2008, an advertisement for the iPhone was banned because of false claims that it could access "all of the Internet"—due to its lack of support of major plug-ins such as Flash.[13]

Criticisms[edit]

The ASA have often been accused of being ineffective.[34][35][36]

Advertising to children

pre-approval for most British television advertising

Clearcast

the British telecommunications and broadcasting regulator

Ofcom

Press Complaints Commission

Official website