LO6 Lesson 3

 ASA

What do they do?

Respond to concerns and complaints from consumers and businesses and take action to ban ads which are misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible. As well as responding to complaints we monitor ads to check they're following the rules.

Who do they work with?

They work with various organisations including advertisers, trade bodies, pressure groups, regulatory partners, media owners and independent experts.

How do they work?

The ASA regulates the content of adverts by enforcing its advertising codes; there are separate codes for non-broadcast and broadcast advertisements. However, all adverts are expected to be “legal, decent, honest and truthful”. If the advertiser does not comply, the ASA has other sanctions at its disposal.

This advert campaign made by Diesel in 2010 called "Be stupid" was considered by the ASA to cause wide range offense and be unsuitable for children as it showed people in situations that were indecent, provocative, unsafe and stupid.

The ASA took down the Levi's "go forth" campaign as it was concluded to be irresponsible and harmful as it could encourage children to play with fireworks.

This advert by Marc Jacobs was taken down by the ASA as the deemed it as offensive for portraying a child in a sexual manner as a multiple of things within the advertisement were believed by the ASA to draw attraction to the 17 year olds sexuality.

Gender stereotyping is a common things that is seen in advertising as it is used to make certain products more appealing for different demographics and to some it can even be comedic further appeal to certain audiences but it can also cause offence to many and is seen as a negative by the ASA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l97cK4W-cw                                                                  Volkswagen Golf advert shows a man fighting multiple versions of himself in a factory and it was banned as it was seen to promote violence 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtE3QlTpKI                                                                                    This Volkswagen polo advert was banned as it was considered by the ASA to cause offense and that it was racist as it portrays a middle eastern man as a terrorist which is a racist stereotype and could cause offence to people of this race and others.