Regulatory Bodies and Advertisement

Issues of Regulation surrounding the advertising industry

CAP-

The Committee of advertising practise write the advertising codes, and represent the main industry bodies (advertisers, agencies and media owners).

They write the wide range of rules that ensure the advert does not mislead, harm or offend and is socially responsible.

They also offer the industry authoritative advice and guidance on how to create campaigns that comply with the rules.

Mislead- the advert does not, for example, if it was an alcohol advert, it does not mislead the viewer into believing excessive drinking is a positive. This could be interpreted as ‘encourage’ unsupported behaviour. Mislead can also mean giving the wrong impression or be intentionally deceiving, something which breaches an element of trust between the ad creator and the viewer.  

Harm/ Offend- The advert must not contain offending or potentially harmful images, such as suicide, babies smoking, etc. An example of this would be the Volkswagen ad including a suicide bomber. This advert was ruled off because of the harmful and offending imagery.

Socially responsible- The ad must conform to social norms and be generally accepted for broadcast. It must not include racism, sexism or discrimination.

There are hundreds of advertising rules which CAP write in order for the viewer to be protected. Children are especially protected, there is extra regulation so that children are not easily mislead. They write specific restrictions for adverts that promote tobacco, alcohol and gambling. Overall CAP are the body which underlines all safety and protection, they establish the rules of which other bodies such as ASA act on.

ASA-

The advertising standards agency ensure that all UK advertising is Legal, (No overtly sexual scenes on the break of a children’s show, for example) Decent, (Filmed and edited to a good level, perhaps, in comparison to its competitors) Honest, (true to the CAP regulations) and Truthful (Not Misleading, correct statistics etc.)

It is an independent operator that is not connected (funded by) either the government or any other advertisers.

If one complaint is filled about an ad, the ASA will act on it. They contact the advertising provider and produce a report. If the ASA decides the advert is inappropriate and the complaint is in fact legitimate, the advert will face termination. When assessing adverts, they will stick to the CAP’s theory of preventing ads that are potentially misleading, harming, offending or lacking social responsibility.

The regulate adverts because of ‘a legal and ethical responsibility to protect consumers from a wide range of harmful and dangerous products’ ASA banned smoking ads in the 1930’s, for example.

BCAP-

BCAP, the broadcast committee of advertising practise, linked with the committee of advertising practise, includes the ‘BCAP Code’ which outlines the specific codes for broadcast advertising. Whereas CAP are the root organisation which not only provides the boundaries but offers many more services, BCAP is more the specific broadcasting code for advertisements.

The code applies to all advertisements (including teleshopping) and programme sponsorship on radio and television services licensed by OFCOM. It is designed to inform advertisers and broadcasters of the standards expected in the content and scheduling of broadcast advertisements and to protect consumers.

This code can be accessed on the ASA website and the CAP website.

The basic rules of compliance are

-       Adverts must reflect the spirit, not merely the letter of the code

-       Adverts must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to society.

-       Advertisements must comply with the law and broadcasters must make that a condition of acceptance

-       Advertisements must not state or imply that a product can legally be sold if it cannot.

The BCAP code also contains many other sets of rules under over 30 headings including Children, Misleading advertising, Privacy, Gambling, Weight control and slimming and more.

The code also provides rules on scheduling too.

OFCOM-

OFCOM is the main communications regulator in the UK. They regulate TV, radio, on-demand services, fixed-line telecoms, mobiles and postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.

Their main objective is to protect the public from ‘scams and sharp practises’ and make sure they get the best from their communications services. They operate under a number of acts of parliament, including in particular the communications act 2003. They must act within the powers and duties set for it by parliament in legislation. They are funded by fees from industry for regulating broadcasting and communications networks, and by grant-in-aid by the government.

They have a code on the scheduling of television advertising which sets out the rules with which television broadcasters licenced by Ofcom must comply when carrying advertising.

The purpose of these regulatory bodies is to ensure that our communications revolution is not a totally free base for anything and anyone to share or broadcast whatever they want. They have the interest of the public at heart, and as many of the actions are initiated by viewers themselves, it means that they serve as a platform between us and the broadcast providers. They represent and protect.