AS1 blog 5: Regulations

Regulations

ASA

The advertising standards authority (ASA) ensure all adverts can be aired and that they follow the rules of advertising. 

The ASA cover a wide variety of advertisements including: 

• 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 

(https://www.asa.org.uk/Consumers/What-we-cover.aspx)

The ASA deal with complaints by getting the person who wants to complain about an advert to fill in a compliant form. 

Ofcom

Ofcom is the communication regulators for the UK, this means they ensure that people living in the UK are not scammed and get the best uses out of their communication services. 

This is what the actually do and their legal duties are:

• the UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband;
• a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
• television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;
• people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material;
• people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and from having their privacy invaded;
• a universal postal service is provided in the UK - this means a six days a week, universally priced delivery and collection service across the country; and
• the radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.

(http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/what-is-ofcom/)

Ofcom only covers TV and radio complaints whereas the ASA cover all types of advertisements.

Ofcom ask people to make a complaint within 20 days of the airing of the TV show or radio show. to make a complaint, on the Ofcom website there is a complain tab and when you click that they get you to answer some questions about the programme you are complaining about.

Banned tv advert

The ASA banned this TV advert because 37 viewers complained about this advert because it was shown at 8:45 and because it's a trailer for a horror TV show and it was during Britain's got talent which is a family show with children watching. The issue with this was viewers complained because of the time it was showed and there is a possibility of children being distressed by watching this. The ASA decided to upheld it because it can distress young children. it was seen by approximately 1.6 million children, 745,000 of whom were aged between 4 and 9 years.