Joshua Whitehead

Regulation

Who are the ASA and what do they do?

The ASA are the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA makes sure all ads in the UK abide by the
advertising codes, making sure they are all appropriate. The ASA respond to concerns and complaints
about advertisements and if they deem any as misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible, then they
have the adverts taken down, essentially banning them from being used. They also constantly monitor
advertisements to make sure all adverts are following the codes they are supposed to, this means that
some adverts may even get taken down before any consumer complaints come through to ASA. They
provide support to advertisers if it is need, for example if it is a companys first time advertising, the ASA
could help them create an advert that abides by all the codes so they have no issues.

Why are they important?

The ASA are important because they ensure that any advertisements that are to be aired, by any means,
abide by all regulations and that they will not offend or mislead consumers. This protects consumers from
being emotionally, mentally or physically affected by any advertisements they see on the TV, Radio, or
Internet. The ASA are funded by all advertisers that pay for their adverts to be aired. This is in the form of
a premium on top of the price of advertising, also, they receive no government funding.

Why do you think advertising needs to be regulated?

Advertising needs to be regulated to ensure that any advertisements that are being produced do not
offend, mislead or harm any viewers. If advertisements arent regulated, companies could create an
advert that evidently lies to consumers about their product/service which creates the problem that
consumers are being misled, therefore they could complain about the advert giving the brand or
organisation a bad reputation. Whereas with advertisements being regulated, these adverts can be
prevented from being aired which means that, consumers are being protected from being misled,
offended or harmed, which then leads to companies being protected from masses of complaints from
consumers, keeping their brand reputation intact.

Who are Ofcom and what do they do?

Ofcom is Britains communications regulator. They regulate all broadcast media such as TV, radio, on-
demand TV. Ofcom ensure that Britain have access to a range of communication devices such as high
speed internet. They protect anyone who watches TV and/or listen to the radio from harmful or offensive
material. They also make sure that a postal service is provided for 6 days a week in the UK and makes
sure radio communications are used in the most effective way.

Why are Ofcom important?

They operate under numerous acts of parliament, they specify the Communications Act 2003, which
suggests it is their main act which they operate under and abide by all legislation within that act and other
acts they operate under. Ofcom have the power to enforce rules for the sector they are in, the
communication sector.

What is the difference between Ofcom and ASA?

Joshua Whitehead

The ASA regulate all advertisements in the UK, whether that is traditional types such as Billboards and
Newspaper adverts, or newer types of advertisements such as social media advertisements. Whereas,
Ofcom only cover electronic communications which could include TV shows and other types of media.

What are the BCAP codes?

The BCAP codes are the codes/regulations that all advertisements have to follow, there are two sets of
codes, one for non-broadcast media and one for broadcast media. In the non-broadcast media set of
codes, there is one called Compliance, which in one subsection, states that marketing communications
should be legal, decent, honest and truthful. In broadcast media codes, code 2.1 states that
advertisements must be obviously distinguishable from editorial content, especially if they use a situation,
performance or style reminiscent of editorial content, to prevent the audience being confused between the
two. The audience should quickly recognise the message as an advertisements.

How are they used?

The BCAP codes are used to ensure that all advertisements meet any regulations, and then any that do
not meet regulations will not be seen by the public. The codes protect consumers from illegal, indecent,
dishonest or untruthful content.

What recent adverts have had rulings from the ASA and what BCAP codes have they breached?

Samsung - They had a cashback promotion on their website for a range of products. However, only 2 of
84 products were eligible for the offer. This was ruled as misleading by the ASA, they breached code 3.1
and 3.22.

Nissan - Nissan had a press ad for The Electrical February Event and stated World leaders in 100%
electric since 2010. This was ruled as misleading by the ASA via a complaint claiming that Nissans
competitors have outsold Nissan and therefore the statement is misleading, as Nissan claimed that the
statement meant they are amongst other leaders, not the world leader. This advertisement breached
codes 3.1, 3.3, 3.33 and 3.7.