Regulation

The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) regulates any form of media to ensure there
are no harmful or misleading adverts published. They are important because they are
responsible for the rules relating to any adverts published, so if an advert is deemed
1
misleading, harmful or offensive they are able to take action against it.

Advertising needs to be regulated so inappropriate or offensive adverts dont get shown,

as they could insult or upset people. The purpose of an advert is to promote a product or
service, not to offend them.

Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK. 2 They regulate TV, radio and video-
on-demand sectors, fixed-line telecoms, mobile and postal service, plus the airwaves on which
wireless devices operate. This simply means they ensure broadband is of a high speed, that TV
programmes and radio are of a high standard and are not harmful or offensive to its audience.
They are important because they are responsible for broadcasting of TV and radio to be of a
high-quality and suitable for all audiences, or there could be several complains to them. Ofcom
are funded through fees from industry for regulating broadcasting and communications
networks, and grant-in-aid from the Government. Also, they operate under the Communications
Act, which came into force on 25th July 2003, under the responsibility of culture secretary Tessa
Jowell. 3

The difference between Ofcom and the ASA is that Ofcom only oversee the amount of
adverts being broadcasted, while the ASA actually take action on the basis of whether they are
harmful or offensive towards the audience in any way.

BCAP Codes are rules that broadcast adverts must comply to. These codes are
enforced by the ASA, and ensure that if they are breached, it is possible to remove or amend
these adverts. There are 33 sections of the overall BCAP codes, with more individual rules for
each section. For example, under the gambling section is rule 17.3.1, that adverts must not

1 https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA.aspx

2 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/what-is-ofcom

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Act_2003
portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to
financial, social or emotional harm. 4

The difference between CAP and BCAP

The difference between CAP and BCAP is that CAP created the main codes that are to
be followed for non-broadcast adverts in the UK, such as billboards, magazine adverts etc.
BCAP focussed on the main rules that broadcast adverts have to follow. An example of codes
applied for non-broadcast adverts are things such as violence should not be condoned, children
should not be portrayed in dangerous environments etc. An example of the codes applied for
broadcast adverts are that they cant be misleading or cause harm or offence to anyone.

ASA Ruling on Amazon Prime

An Amazon Prime advert advertising the new season of The
Walking Dead was reported because it claimed to distress younger
viewers. Also, it was aired during the showing of a childrens film shown
on Channel 4, which was deemed inappropriate. It was also thought to
distress or offend viewers.

According to the ASA, the codes breached were:

32.1 -Broadcasters must exercise responsible judgement on the scheduling of
advertisements and operate internal systems capable of identifying and avoiding
unsuitable juxtapositions between advertising material and programmes, especially
those that could distress or offend viewers or listeners.
5.1 -Advertisements that are suitable for older children but could distress
younger children must be sensitively scheduled

Overall, the advert was upheld, on the basis of ASA considering the overall content of
the ad created a build up of suspense that could be distressing to younger children, but that
would not be unsuitable for older children to see. The ad therefore needed to be sensitively
scheduled, as required by the BCAP Code. 5

4 https://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Broadcast/CodeItem.aspx?cscid={3d30fc63-2e98-4e17-
ae63-22145e06a756}#.WAuB0-ArLIU

5 https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2016/8/
Channel-Four-Television-Corporation/SHP_ADJ_338107.aspx#.V_ta4xSEO-8
ASA Ruling on Apple (UK) Ltd
Apple advertised an online ad for iCloud, stating:
"iCloud. Your documents everywhere. All your documents. On all your devices. With iCloud, you
can create documents in Pages on your Mac and access them on your iPad, iPhone and iPod
touch. And vice versa. You can edit them from anywhere - on any device you use. Changes you
make on one device are updated on all your devices. It's automatic and effortless. And
suddenly, any place is the easiest place to work".

The complaint issued that Changes you make on one device are updated on all your
devices. It's automatic and effortless" was misleading, because they understood that this
functionality did not currently work for Macs in a way that was "automatic and effortless".

According to the ASA, the codes breached were:

3.1 -Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
3.11 -Marketing communications must not mislead consumers by exaggerating
the capability or performance of a product.
3.7 -Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication,
marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to
regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may
regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.

Overall, this was not upheld. The ASA noted that the complaint was irrelevant; after the
correct settings have been changed then what the advert states is correct, and is not in breach
of the codes.6

ASA Ruling on Dominos

A Dominos TV advert advertising their BBQ stuffed crust pizza caused a viewer to
complain as Dominos claimed that the meat was made out of pork belly instead of rib. A viewer
claimed that the boneless ribs were misleading because they were informed by Dominos that
the product was made from pork belly, not rib meat.

6 https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2012/12/Apple-UK-
Ltd/SHP_ADJ_207565.aspx#.V_tdjhRXbHg
 According to the ASA, the codes breached were:
3.1 -Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
3.2 -Advertisements must not mislead consumers by omitting material
information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an
unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.

Overall, this was not upheld, as the Environmental Health Officer confirmed that the description
of the pizza was accurate due to the product being derived from belly pork, in particular the
intercostal muscles connection the ribs. Therefore there was no further action taken. 7

The ad can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBDZAOzIK2s

7 https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2012/8/Dominos-Pizza-UK-and-Ireland-
Ltd/SHP_ADJ_192529.aspx#.WA3iseArLIX