Regulation of print

advertising in the UK.

Questions for the ASA

What the ASA does?

How the ASA is funded?

How regulation works?

What sanction can the ASA compose?

How self regulation of non broadcast advertising words?

Advertising Standards Authority.

1. What exactly does the ASA do?
ASA is an independent company in the UK that regulates across advertising in all media. ASA apply in advertising codes. These are written by the teams of Advertising Practise. Their
main interests is to reply to complaints from the public who watch these adverts on TV and they think something is wrong with them, regardless of how stupid the complaints on. ASA
also makes sure that there is no misleading, harmful or offensive content in advertisements.

2. How is ASA funded?

ASA are funded by advertisers through an arms length arrangement that guarantees the ASAs attendance. 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 that we adequately
funded to keep UK advertising standards high. ASA also receive a small income from charging for some seminars and premium industry advice services. ASA receive no Government
funding and therefore our work is free to the tax payer. The levy system means that we have the necessary resources to handle more than 30,000 complaints each year and
independently check thousands of ads every year. In addition, the funding supports CAPs Copy Advice service which provides pre-publication advice to advertisers, agencies and the
media.

3. How does regulation works?

The ASA are the UKs independent regulator for advertising across all media, their work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against
misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing.

If the ASA judge an ad to be in breach of the UK Advertising Codes, it must be withdrawn or amended and the advertiser must not use the approach again. In 2012 we considered
31,298 complaints about 18,990 cases and we actively checked thousands of ads. Our work led to 3,700 ads being changed or withdrawn.

The UK advertising regulatory system is a mixture of

self-regulation for non-broadcast advertising

co-regulation for broadcast advertising

The UK Advertising Codes are written by two industry committees: the Committee of Advertising Practice writes the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and
Direct Marketing and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) writes the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising.

Complaints for Barnardos

A complaint towards a Barnardos Advert

Ad

A TV ad for Barnardo's showed a teenage girl who told how she ran away from home and ended up taking drugs and being sexually exploited. She said "Then some people found me. They were
from Barnardo's". The ad then described how she had received medical help and counselling and been able to return home.

Issue

A viewer challenged whether the ad was misleading and misrepresented Barnardo's role by suggesting they acted as a child protection agency at the initial intervention stage in cases of child
abuse.

BCAP TV Code

5.1.15.1.2

Response

Barnardo's said the voice-over "Then some people found me. They were from Barnardo's" referred to their voluntary outreach work and did not refer to or show them as a statutory child
protection agency at the initial intervention stage in cases of child abuse. They said their outreach work included services that young people could visit to receive help and support and night-time
street visits to locate young people at risk or being exploited. Their visits targeted parks, bed and breakfasts, temporary accommodation and unsupported houses which, in Barnardos's experience,
were all places where vulnerable children and young people in need of help were found. There were a number of such teams across the UK and they followed local and national policies for child
protection. In a case like the girl featured in the ad, for instance, once they had found and talked to her, they would make an immediate referral to child protection services and the police. They
said this aspect of their work had been widely publicised and was well known of by the public.

Clearcast endorsed Barnardos's response. They did not accept that the ad was capable of misleading viewers. They considered Barnardo's would be very well recognised by viewers as a charity
that provided care and support for vulnerable children but which was not a child protection agency. They said the story shown in the ad was typical of some of the work Barnardo's carried out.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted that, unlike local authority social services departments, Barnardos's outreach work did not take place in every area of the UK. We considered, however, that the story shown in the
ad was representative of Barnardos's outreach work in the areas where it did take place. We considered the ad suggested that this was the kind of situation in which Barnardo's worked but that it
did not suggest that they acted as a child protection agency at the initial intervention stage in cases of child abuse (in the place of social workers or police officers, for instance). Because of that, we
concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead viewers.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standard Code rules 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 (Misleading advertising) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)

Complaints for Tescos

Ad

A leaflet for Tesco Diets' Weight Loss Retreats pictured a group of women on one page and stated below Average of 2 inches off waist size and Upto [sic] 1 stone 2lbs loss, an average weight loss of 4.5 lbs. A second page provided information
about the weight loss scheme and stated Meet some of our success stories! Read their stories and watch their videos at www.tescodiet.com/guarantee. A man and a woman were pictured and text stated Deane lost 4 stone and Karl lost 3
stone. The headline was We are so positive that we can help you lose weight that we are offering a money back guarantee*". Small print stated Based on a starting BMI of 26 or more."

Issue

1. The complainant challenged whether the ad appeared to be offering weight loss methods to obese people in an inappropriate manner.

2. The ASA challenged whether the claim "Average of 2 inches off waist size" implied that precise amounts of weight could be lost from a particular part of the body.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

3.151.951.10

Response

1. Tesco Ireland Ltd t/a Tesco Diets (Tesco Diets) stated the women pictured in the ad had taken part in a Tesco Weight Loss Retreat. They said the claim "Up to 1 stone 2lbs loss" was based on the experience of a journalist who had visited the Tesco
Weight Loss Retreat and the claim "average weight loss of 4.5lbs" was based on the average results of people who had participated in the retreats. They said each participants weight and measurements were recorded at the start and at the end of the
course by the on-site Health Manager, who was a qualified Register of Exercise Professional, and provided an example. They pointed out that the ad directed readers to the website where they could read Deane''s and Karls stories to find out more
about how they had achieved their weight loss and could watch video testimonials. They also provided the weekly weight loss records for Deane and Karl which showed their initial BMI and changing weight and calories allowance, which showed their
weight loss over time. They said the claim "Lose a stone in 8 weeks" was aimed at people with a BMI of 26 or more and pointed out that that was stated on the leaflet and on the website. They said this was highlighted again to readers after they had
entered their current height and weight on the site, and, based on the information they gave, readers were also told whether or not they could achieve one stone loss in eight weeks, or alternative targets could be set. They added that they had four
fully qualified nutritionists working in house for Tesco Diets who responded to any queries from members or potential members about their dietary or nutritional requirements and all members were monitored on a weekly basis by their support team.
They said they also actively contacted any members who posted a high weight loss or gain to offer additional support and any members who joined in the obese category were also specifically contacted by the nutrition team by e-mail to offer
additional support. They also recommended on the website that readers should seek medical advice before starting any weight loss or nutritional programme.

2. They said the claim "Average of 2 inches off waist size" was based on the average results of people who had participated in the retreats.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted that the ad stated that "Deane lost 4 stone" and "Karl lost 3 stone" and considered that that amount of weight loss implied it was likely they had been obese before their weight loss. We noted that the advertiser had provided the
weight loss records for Karl and Deane, which showed they had lost the weight over an 18-month period, and that readers could find out more information about Deane's and Karl's weight loss on the website. We noted, however, that there was no
information about the time it took for Deane and Karl to lose the weight stated in the ad. We were concerned that the Tesco Diets scheme was being advertised to readers using, in part, two examples of weight loss from people likely to be obese.

Because we understood that obesity required medical intervention, and because the ad did not provide any information about the time in which Deane and Karl had lost their weight, we considered that the advertisers had acted irresponsibly by simply
using the claims "Deane lost 4 stone" and "Karl lost 3 stone" and concluded the ad was in breach of the Code.

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 51.9 and 51.10 (Weight control).

2. Upheld

We noted that the ad claimed that weight could be lost "off waist size", which was a specific part of the body. We noted the Code stated that it was unacceptable to claim that weight or fat could be lost from specific parts of the body and therefore
concluded the ad was in breach of the Code.

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 51.9 and 51.10 (Weight control).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)

 4. How sanctions can the ASA impose?

If ASA have judged an ad to be in breach of the Codes, then the ad must be withdrawn or amended. The vast majority of advertisers comply with the ASAs rulings and they act quickly to amend or withdraw
an ad that breaks the Codes We have a range of effective sanctions at our disposal to act against the few who do not and ensure they comply with the rules.

5. How does self regulation of non broadcast advertising work?

Broadly this means that the system is paid for by the industry, which also writes the rules, but those rules are independently enforced by the ASA. For TV and radio advertising, we regulate under a contract
from Ofcom.

The UK Advertising Codes are written by two industry committees: the Committee of Advertising Practice writes the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing and the
Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) writes the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising.

The system is a sign of a considerable commitment by the advertising industry to uphold standards in their profession. All parts of the advertising industry advertisers, agencies and media have come
together to commit to being legal, decent, honest and truthful in their ads.

Questions for the UK code of non broadcasting advertising (CAP code)

What the code applies to?

The central principles of the code?

The basic rules of compliance for the code?

All the different sections of advertising which is the code covers?

For sections and the rules which given advertising in those sections?

UK code of non broadcast advertising.

1. What the code applies to?

The UK Advertising Codes lay down rules for advertisers, agencies and media owners to follow.
They include general rules that state advertising must be responsible, must not mislead, or offend and specific rules that cover advertising to children and ads for specific sectors
like alcohol, gambling, motoring, health and financial products.

2.

Please remember that the Advertising Codes are kept up to date on a regular basis. If you plan to work from downloaded copies we strongly advise that you sign up to receive our
newsletters, to make sure youre aware of any changes.

You can also use our online version of the Codes, which helpfully links sections to further advice, Help Notes and other relevant sections of the Code.

 3. What are the basic rules of compliance for the code.

Marketing communications must reflect the spirit, not merely the letter, of the Code.
Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.

Marketers must comply with all general rules and with relevant sector-specific rules.
No marketing communication should bring advertising into disrepute.
Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASAs enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code.

The full name and geographical business address of the marketer must be given to the ASA or CAP without delay if requested.

Marketing communications must comply with the Code. Primary responsibility for observing the Code falls on marketers. Others involved in preparing or
publishing marketing communications, such as agencies, publishers and other service suppliers, also accept an obligation to abide by the Code.

Rules in Appendix 3 apply only to third parties as defined. If the ASA is unable to identify the relevant third party, the advertiser - on behalf of whom the OBA
advertisement is delivered to web users - must, in good faith, co-operate with the ASA to help determine the identity of the third party.

Marketers should deal fairly with consumers.

Legality

Marketers have primary responsibility for ensuring that their marketing communications are legal. Marketing communications should comply with the law and should not incite anyone to break it.

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

Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such.

Unsolicited e-mail marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as marketing communications without the need to open them (see rule 10.6).

Marketing communications must not falsely claim or imply that the marketer is acting as a consumer or for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession; marketing communications must
make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context.

Marketers and publishers must make clear that advertorials are marketing communications; for example, by heading them advertisement feature.

 4. List all the different sections of advertising which the code covers.

Scope of the code

Compliance

Recognition of marketing communications

Misleading advertising

Harm and offence

Children

Privacy

Political advertisements

Sales promotions

Distance selling

Database practise

Environmental claims

Medicines, medical devices, health related products and beauty products

Weight control and slimming

Financial products

Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims

Gambling

Lotteries

Alcohol

Motoring

Employment, homework schemes and business opportunities

Tobacco, rolling papers and filters

Electronic cigarettes

How the system works

History of self regulation

Appendix 1 - The CPRs and BPRs

Appendix 2 - Advertising rules for on-demand services regulated by statute

Appendix 3 - Online behavioural advertising

5.

Pick 4 sections and give more details about the rules which given advertising in those sections.

Lotteries -

17.1
harm.

Marketing communications must not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional

17.2
Marketing communications must not suggest that participating in a lottery can provide an escape from personal, professional or educational problems such as
loneliness or depression.

17.3
Marketing communications must not suggest that participating in a lottery can be a solution to financial concerns, an alternative to employment or a way to achieve
financial security. Advertisers may, however, refer to other benefits of winning a prize.

17.4
Marketing communications must not portray participating in a lottery as indispensable or as taking priority in life; for example, over family, friends or professional or
educational commitments.

17.5

17.6
Marketing communications must not suggest that participating in a lottery can enhance personal qualities, for example, that it can improve self-image or self-esteem,
or is a way to gain control, superiority, recognition or admiration.

17.7

Marketing communications must not link participating in a lottery to seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness.

17.8

Marketing communications must not portray participation in a context of toughness or link it to resilience or recklessness.

17.9

Marketing communications must not suggest participation is a rite of passage.

17.10

Marketing communications must not suggest that solitary gambling is preferable to social gambling.

17.11

Marketing communications for lotteries that can be participated in only by entering gambling premises must make that condition clear.

17.12
Marketing communications for lotteries must not exploit the susceptibilities, aspirations, credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge of children, young persons or
other vulnerable persons.

17.13
Marketing communications for lotteries must not be likely to be of particular appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with
youth culture.

17.14

17.15
Marketing communications for a lottery product may include children or young persons. No-one who is, or seems to be, under 25 years old may be featured gambling
or playing a significant role.

17.16
Marketing communications that exclusively feature the good causes that benefit from a lottery and include no explicit encouragement to buy a lottery product may
include children or young persons in a significant role.

17.17

Marketing communications must neither suggest peer pressure to participate nor disparage abstention.

Marketing communications for lotteries should not be directed at those aged under 16 years through the selection of media or context in which they appear.

Marketing communications for lotteries must not exploit cultural beliefs or traditions about gambling or luck.