Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

 Advertising Standards  Authority

Who are they and what do they do?

They are a regulatory organization in the UK that regulate the the content of advertisements, promotions and direct marketing in the UK. They are not directly affiliated with the government and are independent but will follow their guidance and laws.

They cover media platforms that include TV, sales promotions, cinema commercials and more.

They have the power to investigate complaints about advertisements and take action again offensive, misleading or harmful adverts which can lead to them imposing sanctions to the advertiser.

What are the key rules?

 Some of the key rules that the ASA enforces include, 

- Honesty over the advertisement not misleading 

the consumer by making false claims over the product or not sharing key information regarding it.

- The advertisement must not promote unsafe behavior. (e.g. Drinking and Driving)

- The advertisement must be appropriate to not cause offence to anyone or use offensive language.

What must I do to comply with the guidelines? 

I must make sure all information is accurate and have evidence behind the claims made, that all information given within the advertisement is clear and not misleading.

The advertisement must also be respectful to everyone, so this means I have to avoid using offensive language, stereotypes that could come off as offensive or discriminate against the groups or individuals.

Finally the last two points would be that the  advertisement must be transparent in cases where it may not be clear such as when influencers promote the product and also keeping in mind to uphold social responsibility to make sure that we don't promote harmful behavior or promote discriminatory behavior against stereotypes.

Advertisements that do/don't comply?