Why Regulation Is Important
Advertising is an essential part of the modern day life and economy, giving information consumers about all the objects that are available to them be and gives them information and reasons for them to go and buy the products that is being advertised to them...But it is very important that the information in the advert is accurate and is not misleading to the audience and it can be trusted by the consumers that hear or see the advertisements.
OFCOM
The Office of Communications (OFCOM) is the government approved regulatory and the competition authority for the for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the united kingdom. OFCOM have a wide range of power across television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors. It has a statutory duty to represent the interests of the citizens and the consumers by promoting competitions and protecting the public from what might be seen as harmful or offensive material. Some of the main areas OFCOM looks over are licensing, research, codes and policies, complaints, competition and protecting the radio spectrum. When OFCOM are dealing with advertisements, they often direct you to the ASA which specifically regulates advertisements.
ASA
The Advertising standards Authority (ASA) ensuring that adverting can be trusted. The ASA stared 50 years ago and their job is to ensure that advertising in all forms of media from newspapers, magazines and billboards, television, radio and the internet is legal, decent, honest and truthful. If an advert fails the tests then the advertising is either amended or withdrawn.
The work that they cover:
- Magazines and newspapers
- Radio and TV
- Television shopping channels
- Poster
- Cinema
- Direct mail (advertising sent through the post and addressed to you personally)
- Internet, including a company's own marketing on its own website or social networking page, as well as in paid-for space
- leaflets and brochures
- Commercial emails and mobile messages
- CD ROMs, DVDs, videos and faxes
- sales promotions (special offers, prize draws and competitions)
- Sponsoring e.g. of events or TV programs
- packaging
- shop windows
- telephone calls
- Fly-Posting
- private certified ads
- statutory/ public notices
- political ads
- online editorial
Is the advert inaccurate or misleading?
and..
Might it cause offence to people who are seeing it, or could it course harm to anyone, especially children?
If any advert is misleading or inaccurate, or if it does offend people and course harm to people, the ASA have every right to not allow the advert to be shown or heard on the radio, to make sure that the audience do not get offended but what it being said and what is being seen.
Role of the ASA
As well as proactively checking as from many millions that shoe up every year in the UK, they act on complaints to make sure that the audience are protected from misleading, harmful or offensive as that could anger anyone who is watching it. Even one single complaint can lead to a formal investigation and if the ASA believe it is harmful or misleading and/ or offensive, the ad will be withdrawn.
ASA Intervention has changed tobacco advertising
Before the ASA stepped in, cigarettes were advertised as healthy for you, which was a big lie to all that watched the adverts. ASA intervention has changed cigarette advertising started in 1965, when cigarette advertising was banned on TV, or though cigars and loose tobacco continued to be advertised until the early 1990's. In 1975, new rules were invented for other types of cigarette advertising were introduced, along with pre-vetting smoking. In 2003, The tobacco advertising and promotion act of 2002 came into action, stopping advertising and promotion of tobacco products, however, it does not cover ads for rolling papers or for filters.
Three Controversial Advertisements that raise a range of important issues
Charity adverts (Child abuse)
The issues for this advert is abuse on children. The NSPCC gets lots of complaints each year, due to how the adverts are set out, angering the audience that watch the adverts. The ASA had to say that people can get upset or bothered over adverts like this because it bothers them due to not being able to help and concerning parents because of them being parents and being worried for their own children's safety.
My opinion on the NSPCC adverts are that they are very shocking to people who watch them and I can understand why the audience get angry and upset when watching an advert that handles such a emotional feeling towards it that they do not want to see or have their young children watch it. I think that the NSPCC should make and advert that is more friendly to those who watch it so they do not complain about it to the ASA. At the end of the day, people need to know that child abuse is happening to young people and children ever where and it needs to be stopped.
Sexism
The issue for this advert is Sexism. This advert is about new car tires, but what they do in this advert is make out that women should not be trusted behind the wheel of the car because they are bad on the road which would offend women all over the world is they saw this advert and they would call it sexist because they are making men look better then women.
What ASA have said about adverts with sexism in them is, 19% of people get offended over sexist adverts over women due to the way that women get portrayed as bad drivers, dumb, weak ect. causing them to have to have to stop showing them on the TV.
My thoughts on sexism in the adverts is that it shouldn't be done in the first place. By making men better then women is sick because they think men hold more power. I believe that we shouldn't make one gender more powerful then the other because men can do what women do too, it should not matter about gender.
Junk Food
The issue in this is junk food. this is a mixture of different adverts that advertise junk food which people have got a problem with because it is advertising to people that it is okay to eat unhealthy food specially to children and to teens.
What the ASA have to say on people advertising people eating unhealthy food is "most would agree that advertising informs and promotes consumer choice, not everyone is happy that some food and drink choices can be promoted in the first place. For instance, critics of ads for ‘unhealthy’ food have called for restrictions or even outright bans of advertising for these products. In particular, they cite concerns about the impact these ads have on children’s health."
" The ASA is fully aware of these concerns. In particular we are committed to ensuring ads do not contain anything that is likely to result in a child’s physical, mental or moral harm. We are not, however, a social engineer, and it is not our role to say whether a legally available product or service is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. We are responsible for making sure that they are advertised within the rules."
My thoughts on Junk food being advertised is that it should be cut down. instead of advertising junk food all the time, start advertising healthier food to get kids, teens and even adults more interested in the healthier opposition instead of the easier opposition which just happens to be junk food. If advertisers force more on the healthier food then junk food, people would complain less.
Excellent post Shauna! Top notch!
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