Regulatory Body (The ASA):

How is the ASA funded?

The ASA is funded by advertisers through an arms length arrangement that
guarantees the ASAs independence. Collected by the Advertising Standards Board
of Finance (Asbof) and the Broadcast Advertising Standards Board of Finance
(Basbof), the 0.1% levy on the cost of buying advertising space and the 0.2% levy on
some direct mail ensures the ASA is adequately funded to keep UK advertising
standards high. We also receive a small income from charging for some seminars
and premium industry advice services. We receive no Government funding and
therefore our work is free to the tax payer
(I have copied this from https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Funding.aspx)

What exactly does the ASA do?

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UKs independent regulator of advertising
across all media.
Our purpose is to make advertisements responsible and our ambition is to make every UK ad a
responsible ad.
Were passionate about what we do because responsible advertisements are good for people,
society and advertisers.

The five strands of our strategy

1 Understanding: Well be an authority on advertising and active on
issues
that cause societal concern. Well be open to calls for regulatory change,
acting
purposefully and in a timely fashion, while being fair and balanced in our
assessment of the evidence and arguments
2 Support: Well provide support to advertisers to help them create responsible ads. Well
increase, improve and better target our advice and training so every business has access to the
information and support it needs
3 Impact: Well spend more time on matters that make the biggest difference. Focussing on our
existing remit, well spend less time tackling ads that cause little detriment to consumers or on
the vulnerable. But, where a complaint indicates that the rules have been broken, we will always
do something

4 Proactive: Well be proactive and work with others. Well use a wide range of information to
identify and tackle problems to make sure ads are responsible, even if we havent officially
received a complaint.
5 Awareness: Well increase awareness of the ASA and CAP. We will make sure that the public,
civil society and the industry know who we are and what we can do, so they can engage with us
when they need to, and have confidence in our work.
Read our detailed strategy document, which outlines the case for change.

Our shared values are to be:

- Consistent and proportionate
- Reliable and ethical
- Fair and respectful to all
- Accessible and helpful
- Intelligent and thorough, but also timely and proportionate
- Open and accountable, acting with integrity and never being afraid to admit when were wrong
- An excellent team, inspiring excellence in each other
Our external stakeholders will also find us:

Independent in administering the Advertising Codes

Evidence-based, targeted and consistent

Reflective of society, not a social enginee

(I have copied this from https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Strategy.aspx)

How does self- regulation of non-broadcast advertising

work?
Self-regulation means that the industry has voluntarily established and
paid for its own regulation.
The system works because it is powered and driven by a sense of
corporate social responsibility amongst the advertising industry.
Advertisers have an interest in maintaining the system because:

Making sure that consumers are not misled, harmed or offended by

ads helps to maintain consumer confidence in advertising.
Advertising that is welcomed by consumers is good for business.

It maintains a level playing field amongst businesses. It is important

for fair competition that all advertisers play by the same rules.

Maintaining the self-regulatory system is much more cost-effective

for advertisers than paying the legal costs of a court case.

The role of the industry is to write the Advertising Codes, help advertisers
to comply with the rules and to pay for the system. However, the industry
does not administer its own rules. It has established the Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA) as the independent adjudicator. Advertising
self-regulation is flexible in its scope and is able to adapt to market
conditions. This is particularly important in the fast-moving advertising
industry.
The Code reflects requirements in law, but also contains many rules that
are not required by law at all. The advertising industry has chosen to
exercise this self-restraint not only to make further legislation
unnecessary, but also as a public demonstration of its commitment to
high standards in advertising.
Because the system works successfully, the UK Government has not
needed to regulate directly. However, that doesnt mean that the views of
politicians or civil society and the wider industry - on advertising
regulation are unimportant, so we actively seek out their views on our
work.
Interaction with the law
Across the European Union (EU) there is a unified piece of consumer
protection legislation to prevent the use of misleading or unfair trading
practices. This law, called the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, has
been translated into UK law to make sure that we have the same rules as
all the other countries in the EU. The ASA works within this legal
framework to make sure that UK advertising is not misleading or unfair.
The ASA is able to refer advertisers who persistently break the Advertising
Codes and dont work with us to other bodies for the further action, such
as Trading Standards or Ofcom. The ASA is considered the established
means for gaining compliance with both these pieces of legislation. This
means that the law itself is not usually enforced formally through the
courts; instead the ASA is first allowed to tackle any problems under the
Advertising Codes. This approach works well in the overwhelming majority
of cases. The ASA is able to take action quickly and this avoids clogging
up our court system. Referral is rarely necessary, as most advertisers
prefer to work with the self-regulatory system.
(I have copied this from https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Aboutregulation/Self-regulation-of-non-broadcast-advertising.aspx)

How does regulation work after an advertisement has

appeared and what sanctions can the ASA impose?

There are many millions of non-broadcast ads published every year in the UK, so
it would be impossible to pre-clear every one of them. For example there are
more than 30 million press advertisements and 100 million pieces of direct
marketing every year.
However, lots of advice and guidance is available through CAP Advice and
Training. This includes free bespoke pre-publication advice from Copy Advice and
online resources that advertisers, agencies and media can use to check the
latest positions on hundreds of different advertising issues

(I have copied
regulation.aspx)

this

from

https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/About-

What sanctions can the ASA approve?

The majority of sanctions for non-broadcast advertising are coordinated
through CAP, whose members are trade associations representing
advertisers, agencies and media. There are several CAP sanctions, which
can be employed in different circumstances:
Ad Alerts - CAP can issue alerts to its members, including the media,
advising them to withhold services such as access to advertising space.
Withdrawal of trading privileges - CAP members can revoke, withdraw
or temporarily withhold recognition and trading privileges. For example,
the Royal Mail can withdraw its bulk mail discount, which can make
running
direct
marketing
campaigns
prohibitively
expensive.
Pre-vetting - Persistent or serious offenders can be required to have their
marketing material vetted before publication. For example, CAPs poster
industry members can invoke mandatory pre-vetting for advertisers who
have broken the CAP Code on grounds of taste and decency or social
responsibility the pre-vetting can last for two years.
Sanctions in the online space - CAP has further sanctions that can be
invoked to help ensure marketers claims on their own websites, or in
other non-paid-for space under their control, comply with the Codes
(I have copied this from https://www.asa.org.uk/Industryadvertisers/Sanctions/Non-broadcast.aspx)