Unit 7 assessment

ASA Advertising standards Authority

The ASA are a regulating body, who regulate adverts in the U keg, Tv and radio. This
Body was put in place to prevent companies putting out information that can be
explicit or harm people in the public. If you check the ASA website you can find
stories about banned adverts and the reason for why they have been banned. The
body was setup in 1961; they are also an independent body, which means that they
do not rely on any other companies but themselves. Also when it comes to big
drugs e.g. Tobacco depending on how the advert has been portrayed they have the
power to ban the advert, as what they are showing can influence younger teens to
smart smoking.
Funding
Advertisers through an arms length agreement, which secures the ASAs
independence, fund the ASA. There is an advantage here; this means that the ASA
do not need to rely on other sources e.g. the government to pay them, because
they are independent they have the free will to do as they please.
Powers
The most effective power that the ASA have is to remove any ad that does not meet
their criteria. There are some cases where if the ad only has minor faults the Ad
companies may get a chance to edit it and make changes so that it can be suitable
for the public, if the ad is that bad then it can be not only removed but banned. The
ASA come together with OFCOM to review any cases or any Ads they think that
need to be taken down, this tactic isvery good it means that ASA can tackle cases
faster with the help of OFCOM. Also before an Ad is published the ASA will check
first to see if it meets their code of practice, but if they do not check the Ad and crit
it they will always come back to it just to make sure it is safe for the public.
How does industry use it?
The ASA use their powers by having codes of practice that they follow which the
adverts have to meet. Without the codes of practice there would be so many foul
and explicit adverts. ASA are also accountable to the content that can be shown in
an advert.
How do the public use it?
The public use the ASA to their own advantage, they can have an ad removed
because it may cause issues of offend people, and maybe it could be religion
related. The ASA have a section on their own Website where the public can
complain about an ad they have seen and want removed. It does not just get
removed because a few people want it removed, if it does not meet the codes of
practice then it will be removed if not, there will be a review on the ad. Noncommercial advertisers can also view the website to and check the codes of

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practice to see if their ads they are producing matches and does not break the code
of conduct.
What ASA deal with the most?
The ASA focus on broadcasting ads and print ads. As soon as there has been a
complaint in any of these 2 sectors they will have it under review. Mostly it comes
down to the drugs and alcohol as the ASA are really strict about the substances that
are being shown on the TV as it can brain wash or influence younger teens to try it
out.
Case studies
I looked at 2 case studies presented by the ASA in 2013. This was about a Bosh
dishwasher ad The ASA banned the add because it got 3 complaints and the ASA
reviewed the ad and found out that they were giving false information and
misleading the public. There can be up to 49 liters of water used to wash the dishes
by hand, but in the advert the dishwasher only uses 6 liters. I think in some ways
they where right to ban the advert but I think they should have removed it rather
than banning it. My reason for saying they have the right to ban it is because they
are giving the public false information and this can be very harmful for an
individual. Also I dont think they should have banned it because only 4 complaints
were made, out of the millions of people that have already seen it in the Uk, if the
ad was that much of a problem surely there would have been over 4 complaints.
Also they should not have banned it because the company uses other types of
dishwashers that require less water.
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/03/20/bosch-dishwasher-advert-havas-worldwidelondon-banned-advertising-standards
I believe that it is a good idea to be regulation in the media industry because it
keeps the public safe and individuals save as well. There could be harmful or explicit
content that can be shown in TV and ads, but because we have the help of ASA and
OFCOM, they protect us from explicit viewing and things that we might find
disrobing or influential. Also it stops people from just putting what they like out
there on the media as the media is a very big industry and if someone is shown and
comes across bad many people can be affected by it, that are why it is important to
have a body that regulates these things.
BBFC British Broadcasting Film of Classification
The BBFC regulate films and video in the UK and they are the ones who put an age
rating on a film or video which goes from U to 18 if you visit their website you can
find their age rating rankings. If a film does not meet the age rating, the producer
will have to either cut scenes from the film, or take the best given age rating. For
example if the producer said his film was a 15, and BBFC think differ they will offer

Unit 7 assessment
him a chance to cut scenes of give him a different age rating that is best suitable for
the film. The body was set up in 1912 to bring a degree of uniformity to the
classification film.
Funding
The BBFC are not a governmental, which means that the public does not fund them.
The BBFC income is due to the fees that it chargers the filmmakers that bring their
film to be reviewed.
Powers
They have the power for a film to be banned, if the films do not follow the guidelines
of the BBFC then there is nothing much the BBFC can do apart from ban it, or review
the film again to see if any changes can make a difference. The BBFC work under 4
ACTS which gives them the power and right to ban a film that does not follow the
Guidelines. Obscene Publications Act, this is one of the acts that they act under on.
This covers TV and covers material. Obscenity is the act of portraying offensive and
disgusting acts, this can be a sexual and explicit act that can be harmful or found
disturbing by the public.
How does the industry use it?
The BBFC have professional people who sit and watch the films before it has been
put out, they are the one who decide if the film is suitable to the public and then
they give it an age rating depending on the content that is being shown in the film.
This is known as a classification.
How do the public use it?
The public can choose to give an opinion on what rating they think a film should
have, and then this allows everyone who chose to comment on the BBFC page to
see their opinions and intelligence. This will then allow the audience to think about
the film they are seeing and if the age rating is okay for that specific film. The public
can also choose to complain if they think a film was rated incorrectly or if they have
any issues with the film in general. Its almost as if the public demand and the BBFC
will act, in order to make sure that nothing offensive or harmful can cause a viral
usage.
Case studies
There was a case study on Attack the Block, there was some confusion on what age
rating the film should be because of the strong language and gore and disturbing
scenes in the Thriller film. The film was submitted to the BBFC with no category in
March 2011. The moral of the story was that, they decided to rate the film a 15
because of the explicit scenes that was shown in he film, so rather than banning the
film they came to a conclusion of just changing the age rating of the film.

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OFCOM Office of Communications

They regulate television and radio. They also have the idea of making sure that the
public get a good communication, public can send OFCOM complaints if their
service is bad or not up to scratch, also they protect the public from scams and
fraud movements. OFCOM was created in 2001 and was launched in 29 December
2003. It was set up to be a super regulatory body, which was meant to replace
many exciting authorities. The 5 regulators are
The broadcasting standard commission
The radio authority
The radio communications agency
The office of telecommunications
The independent television commission
Funded
The government funds OFCOM, they also get money from fines, which is a good way
of making profit for them.
How does the industry use it?
OFCOM can ban anything that gets a lot of complaints regarding TV or radio. If the
public find anything offensive or any foul language being used. By OFCOM
regulating these things they are protecting the public and ensuring that what is said
or being shown offends no one. When OFCOM review it and find that is being said is
too explicit they can fine the TV channel or the radio station for airing something
with disturbing offensive language. Also they can make newspapers apologies for
giving out wrong information. An example of his was when the sun said kanye west
said something, which was wrong; the sun was made to apologies to him for giving
out false information.
Case studies

The case study I found was 3RD April 2009 OFCOM fined the BBC 150,000 after two episodes of
Russell brand radio show breached the broadcasting code. The BBC put out information about
Georgina Baillie without her consent, this breached her privacy and it was embarrassing to have
your personal information being broadcasted live. As a result of this OFCOM simply fined the BBC,

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70,000 pounds for breaching rule 2.1 and 2.3 and a fine of 80,000 pounds which add up to 150,000.
I think it was right that they got fined because they are putting up someones personal information
and invading her privacy.