The Advertising Standards Authority regulates the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK. The ASA make sure standards are kept high by applying the advertising standards codes. www.asa.org.uk
They can stop misleading, harmful or offensive advertising. They can help reduce unwanted commercial mail - either sent through the post, by e-mail or by text message - and can resolve problems with mail order purchases.
The ASA investigates complaints made about ads, sales promotions or direct marketing. Anyone can complain to the ASA. Most complaints are made through the complaints form on their website. They publish adjudications on complaints on the above website every Wednesday. They also monitor ads to spot problems.
Censorship & regulation [Institutions]
In radio ads, advertisers are not allowed to include car noises such as horns and engine noises as they may distract drivers.
In television advertisements, adverts have to conform to decency standards which include a watershed at 9pm which ensures that younger viewers are not exposed to disturbing programmes or advertising content.
In alcohol ads, the actors and actresses have to look as though they are over the age of 21. There have been lots of arguments about whether alcohol and tobacco / smoking should be banned, especially where products appear to target children such as alcopops.
In fact, the government have banned smoking ads everywhere. This caused much controversy in motor racing because the racing teams used to get the majority of their funding from tobacco manufacturers.
Some advertising campaigns have been banned due to their offensive nature. This was the case with some Benetton adverts. Depending on the type of ad, there are various organisations which regulate advertising such as Ofcom and the ASA or Advertising Standards Authority.
In television advertisements, adverts have to conform to decency standards which include a watershed at 9pm which ensures that younger viewers are not exposed to disturbing programmes or advertising content.
In alcohol ads, the actors and actresses have to look as though they are over the age of 21. There have been lots of arguments about whether alcohol and tobacco / smoking should be banned, especially where products appear to target children such as alcopops.
In fact, the government have banned smoking ads everywhere. This caused much controversy in motor racing because the racing teams used to get the majority of their funding from tobacco manufacturers.
Some advertising campaigns have been banned due to their offensive nature. This was the case with some Benetton adverts. Depending on the type of ad, there are various organisations which regulate advertising such as Ofcom and the ASA or Advertising Standards Authority.
An organisation called TMAP or the Teenage Magazine Arbitration Panel, is a self-regulating body in the magazine industry which raises issues about objectivity.
However, a banned ad can sometimes be an efficient way to create mass interest in a product. If an advert is banned it immediately draws attention to it and will often by found on things like Youtube in a viral form (viral advertising or viral marketing).
There was a very famous case of an advertising technique being used to create hunger and thirst in the audience without them realising why. It was called subliminal advertising. This was used in moving image narratives - films, etc. In between the main narrative image frames were small pictures of burgers or similar products.
When the film sequence was shown, due to the speed that the film passed the lens, it became impossible to see the burger and yet still watch the film. However, the audience would begin to feel hungry and perhaps be inclined to chose the burger rather than something else during the interval.
This advertising strategy was banned due to its covert nature and effectiveness.
The future for advertising...
As with all forms of media digital technology is changing the way advertising is delivered. There is a growing trend for using computer technology to deliver media programming and information.
Digital Convergence allows one media outlet to take advantage of features and benefits offered through other media outlets. Soon all television programmes in the UK will be delivered digitally, via Freeview, cable, telephone or satellite. The convergence of television and the internet opens many potential opportunities for advertisers to target customers in ways not available with traditional television advertising. Digital technology can target specific audiences.
Advertisements delivered to one household can be different to the advertisements delivered to a neighbour’s television even though both households are watching the same programme.
Convergence is not limited to just television. Many media outlets are experiencing convergence as for example newspapers and other print publications now have a strong web presence with advertising targeted accordingly. The future holds even more convergence opportunities. These include outdoor billboards that alter displays as cars containing geographic positioning systems (GPS) pass by, or direct mail postcards that carry a different message based on data that matches a household’s address with their television viewing habits.
As audiences become more sophisticated readers of the media, they are harder to attract by advertising and this leads to a constant drive to create novel approaches to marketing and advertising.
Skipping advertisements
The Personal Video Recorder – like SKY+, is changing how people view television programmes by allowing them to watch programmes at a time that is convenient for them, rather than convenient for the broadcaster.
The other main reason consumers are attracted to theses hard disc recorders is their ability to quickly skip over commercials. This presents major issues for advertisers who are paying for advertisements.
Advertisers worry that they might not be getting the best value for their advertising money. Advertisers who feel frustrated with television ad-skipping may decide to invest their promotional funds in other media outlets, such as the internet, where individual consumers are more likely to see an advertisement.
The way people use media for entertainment, news and information is changing. The internet has created new media outlets, especially for the many, younger, affluent consumers. Examples include:
• Podcasting Audio – Downloadable online audio that can be listened to on MP3 players, an iPod or a mobile phone. News websites, all sorts of information sites, blogs, offer free downloadable audio programming.
• Podcasting Video – Downloadable video onto handheld devices, mobile phones and laptops. Television programmes will be available to download for a fee. The BBC has just launched its iPlayer where programmes can be watched for a limited time after broadcasting.
• RSS Feeds – News and other content delivered instantly to anyone who has signed up for them. From an advertiser’s point of view those registering for RSS feeds represent a highly targeted market as they requested the content.
• Networked Gaming – Gaming systems attached to the Internet for group play is becoming more practical as more people move to broadband connections. Advertisers can insert adverts, during game play.
Advertisers will have to adapt to the new technologies as they appear. It seems inconceivable that advertising will not continue to be an important part of the economy of the developed and developing world. After all they had advertisements in the Roman city of Pompeii over 2000 years ago.