Part B Regulation

Who are the ASA and what do they do?

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are the UKs regulator of advertising across a
range of platforms. From only 1 complaint from a member of the public on the topic of an
advert they will investigate which will result in either the advert staying up for viewers
pleasure, changed to fit the needs of the complaint or even brought down completely.

Why are they important?

Without the ASA, any company of any nature could create an advertising campaign which
could include discriminative language, unrelated images (which could cause offence) and a
message which could offend not just one person but an entire society. With the authority in
place which abides by laws from Parliament they can control this from not happening
leaving the public happy with adverts which they are faced with on a day to day basis.

Why do you think advertising should be regulated?

With advertising being such a diverse branch of our modern society, it is important that each
specific advert serves a purpose which is in favour of the company. If adverts were not
regulated people of different races, genders, ages, sexual orientations and weights probably
would be targeted to attract more customers in a way which is not tolerated with such
scrutiny now amongst the advertising world if this wasnt the case the world would be sent
back to old fashioned times where we would again have to argue amongst ourselves
whether it is right to be different.

Who are Ofcom and what do they do?

Ofcom (The Office of Communications) is the national regulator for all broadcasting,
telecommunications and postal industries. Similar to the ASA they ensure that they protect
audiences but they dont act on complaints instead they monitor the airways of every
radio and TV show and will act accordingly at the time of the broadcast on what action to
take if it breaches the Parliament Act of Communications 2003.

Why are Ofcom important and how are they funded?

Ofcom dont just monitor airways to protect listeners but are used to ensure a wide range of
genres of TV shows are available and there isnt a variety of shows that fall under the same
spectrum. This is important because if we had 50 game shows that are all similar and have
the same outcome the British audiences will be drawn away from 49 of them and attracted
to 1 making it cost thousands for other channels to produce something that a small
number of people will watch. The company is funded by fees from industry for regulating
broadcasting and communications networks, and grant-in-aid from the Government.

What is the difference between Ofcom and the ASA?

Apart from the fact they both regulate completely different areas of media another
difference between the two would be the way they act, he ASA respond only to audience
complaints whereas Ofcom monitor broadcasts 24/7.
What are the BCAP codes and how are they used?
The BCAP codes contain different definitions of key terms which contain background
information on the legal framework for broadcast advertising regulation. The ASA use them
to categorise banned or complained about adverts.

What recent adverts have had rulings from the ASA and what BCAP codes have they
breached?
The Tickets House Ltd company in the past year has had one complaint on an advert they
produced, the viewers complaint read: the website of a third-party travel agency,
challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that it was the official Ethiopian Airlines
website. From this the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that it breached BCAP codes
Misleading advertising and Imitation and denigration.