ASA

What is the ASA The ASA is an Authority formed to create and push for all media to be legal,

decent, honest and truthful. This is in fact their Mantra and ASA stands for

'Advertising Standards Authority' and there main job is to promote the highest

standards across all media. Although ASA is a british based business it's funded

by he advertising agency asapose to a british man or group.

What does the ASA do The ASA's main role in the Media industry is to regulate the content of

advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK. This then

includes having to do activities such as investigating complaints made about

adverts, sales promotions or direct marketing and deciding whether advertising

complies with its advertising standards codes.

What types of advertising does the ASA cover The ASA cover a wide and broad range of adverts from Magazines to DVDs to

Marketing campaigns. Below is a list of all the adverts that they cover.

Magazine and newspaper advertisements

Radio and TV commercials (not programmes or programme sponsorship)

Television Shopping Channels

Advertisements on the Internet, including:

banner and display ads

paid-for (sponsored) search

Marketing on companies’ own websites and in other space they control like

social networking sites Twitter and Facebook

Commercial e-mail and SMS text message ads

Posters on legitimate poster sites (not fly posters)

Leaflets and brochures

Cinema commercials

Direct mail (advertising sent through the post and addressed to you personally)

Door drops and circulars (advertising posted through the letter box without your

name on)

Ads on CD ROMs, DVD and video, and faxes

Sales promotions, such as special offers, prize draws and competitions wherever

they appear.

How does the ASA respond to complaints

The ASA requires the full name and address of the complainant in order to ensure

that the complaint is legitimate. These details are never leaked outside of the ASA

database without given permission from the Complainer them self. The only cases

where the ASA might ask the complainant for their permission to be named relate

to complaints that a consumer has not yet received goods or wishes to be removed

from a marketer's database.

If the complaint comes from a competitor or someone with a trade or vested

interest with the advertiser about which they are complaining, the ASA requires the

company to agree to be named. This, according to the ASA, limits the number of

petty or retaliatory complaints. The ASA proceeds only with the express

permission of the complainant for their organisation to be named.

You can appeal against your complaint and there are 2 main grounds which must

be complied with if you are to appeal, and these are:

1. Where additional evidence has come to light. If it is the advertiser that has

brought additional evidence to bear, it must provide an explanation as to why the

evidence was not available during the investigation.

2. Where there has been a substantial flaw in either the ASA Council's adjudication

or the investigation process.

Examples of Codes for TV advertising Some examples of TV advertising codes are:

Television exerts a strong influence on the community.

Advertisements must be truthful and lawful.

Advertisements should be clearly distinguishable from programmes.

Any advertisement that has the effect of indirectly publicising

an unacceptable product or service should not be accepted for telecast.

Children are defined as those aged 14 years and below. The guidelines take

into account the fact that children's ability to distinguish between fact and

fantasy will vary according to their age, and that children in general tend to

be imitative by nature.

Advertisements for chatline and non-accredited dating services are not to be

telecast.

Below is a link to a website which gives all the TV advertising Codes.

http://www.mda.gov.sg/Documents/PDF/Policies/PoliciesandContentGuidelines_

TV_TVAdCode.pdf