150504 webinar self regulation
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This document discusses self-regulation of marketing communications in Australia. It provides an overview of the key self-regulatory bodies and codes of practice. The AANA seeks to ensure self-regulation remains the preferred model and allows members to expand into new channels without unnecessary regulation. Advantages of self-regulation include supporting legislation, operating at no cost to consumers or government, and promoting best practices. The AANA Code of Ethics and other codes cover issues like discrimination, violence, health and safety, language, and advertising to children. Members can receive pre-reviews of ads through the AANA's Ad|Check service.
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150504 webinar self regulation
- 3. AANA Members
- 4. ALL MEDIA, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ASB ACCC FREE TV Code of Practice ASTRA Codes of Practice CRA Codes of Practice and standards ACMA BROADCASTING SERVICES ACT SELF-REGULATION LEGISLATION Complaints handling AANA Self-Regulatory Codes OMA FCAI AFGC ABAC Australian Consumer Law Misleading and Deceptive Conduct
- 6. Our core purpose: • To ensure that the self-regulation of marketing communications continues to be regarded by Government and stakeholders as the preferred model for managing marketing communications in Australia. • To ensure thatAANAmembers can expand their communications activities into new emerging channels without unnecessary regulatory obstacles.
- 7. Advantages of self-regulation • Supports a legislative framework • Operates at no charge to the consumer or government • Dynamic and flexible • Responsive and proactive • Promotes best practice • Transparent
- 8. “IF IT’S NOT DONE ETHICALLY, ADVERTISING WON’T BE TRUSTED. IF CONSUMERS DON’T TRUST IT, ADVERTISING IS POINTLESS”. Prof Jeff Richards, Michigan University
- 9. Codes 1. Code of Ethics 2. Code for Marketing & Advertising to Children 3. Food & Beverages Advertising & Marketing Communications Code 4. Environmental Claims in Advertising & Marketing Code AANA self-regulatory system
- 10. AANACodeof Ethics How is “advertising and marketing communications” defined: Any material which is published or broadcast in any medium Any activity over which the advertiser has a reasonable reasonable degree of control that promotes a product, product, service, person, organisation etc
- 11. What’s included? What’s not? • National system - all marketing, all places • Platform and technology neutral • Broadcast media - TV, radio • Outdoor - billboards, taxis, bus shelters, store front posters • Internet - Company websites, Social media, user generated content • Not – labels and packaging; public relations; station promos
- 12. Social media and User Generated Content – when is it your problem & how do you fix it? Reasonable control – brand owner has reasonable control of UGC once aware of the material Apply a reasonable review of UGC Once the brand owner is aware of problematic UGC: • Moderate UGC by correction or removal • Develop “house rules” of what’s acceptable • Keep in mind community standards
- 13. Community standards Discrimination or vilification • Race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, disability, mental illness or political belief Sexual appeal • Must not be exploitative and degrading Violence • Prohibited unless justifiable in the context advertised Health and Safety • Prohibited if depicts material contrary to prevailing community standards
- 15. Relevant Audience Sex, sexuality, nudity • Treat with sensitivity to the relevant audience Language • Must be appropriate for relevant audience and medium • Permitted if innocuous, part of the Australian vernacular eg. bugger, shit, pissed-off, crap, bloody, cheap bastard, bum, honk if you did it last night, f*%ck • Not permitted: F-word, C-word
- 16. Advertising to children The advertisement is for product, goods, services which are targeted toward and have principal appeal to children The ad, having regard to the theme, visuals and language used, is directed primarily to children (14 or younger); and
- 17. Advertising directed primarily to Children • Nature of the product of service • Child’s perspective • Theme & storyline • Childlike visuals e.g. animation • Language • Age of actors and characters • Call to Action
- 18. Children’s Code requirements Factual presentation Must not mislead children, be ambiguous, minimise price Sexual appeal Must not employ sexual appeal or include sexual imagery contrary to prevailing community standards Parental authority Must not undermine judgement of carers or ask kids to urge carers to buy item Safety Must not use images which depict unsafe uses of product
- 19. Children’s Code requirements Sexual appeal
- 20. How can we help? Ad|Check If you are, or would like to be an AANA member, we have as one of our services a pre-review of advertising and marketing communications for against the AANA Code of Ethics, the AANA Code of Advertising and Marketing to Children, Food & Beverages Code and Environmental Claims Code. Marit Andersen Regulatory Affairs Manager marit@aana.com.au Tel02–92218088
- 21. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- I mentioned we’re the peak body for advertisers in a Australia and this slide gives you snap shot of our members – you can see it’s a broad range of industry sectors but when it comes to advertising there are some common issues. Before we delve into self regulation let’s take a quick overview of how the system looks.
- Regulation of advertising in Australia takes several different forms There is government legislation (both Federal Government and State Government) which regulates advertising – this is primarily through the Australian Consumer Law (which is Federal Government legislation) and FairTrading Legislation (from the States). There is also legislated regulation for some types of advertising, such as medicine and other therapeutic goods, gambling, on line gaming. Some media, such as free to air television has its own rules made up partly of legislation and partly of co regulatory codes, such as the commercial television industry code of practice. The provide rules for when certain ads can be shown at what time on television. For example under that regulation, alcohol advertising can only be shown after 830pm at night and at limited other times. There are also special rules around advertising directed to children.
- The AANA is one half of the self-regulatory system, who develops the codes of conduct with input and consultation by industry and others more broadly. The other half is the Advertising Standards Bureau which is the independent complaints handling body. It has established a complaints handling board which determines community standards and ultimately holds marketers to account. This structural separation is really important – AANA’s role is to develop Codes and ASB’s role is to adjudicate complaints and determine community standards. AANA has members, and it’s the members and the broader industry which shape the Codes. The ASB is not a member organisation and they can receive complaints about any advertiser, whether or not they are a member of the AANA.
- The AANA is the peak industry body representing advertisers in Australia – ensuring and promoting responsible marketing – ads that are legal, decent and honest – that have been prepared with a sense of obligation to the consumer and society in general. We were established by industry and we are funded by industry, to maintain the system of self regulation. Ethical advertising standards in Australia are set by industry – in our codes of conduct. Our core purpose is to ensure that self-regulation continues to be the preferred model – so when there’s an inquiry, or debate, or lobby group or parliamentarian who starts agitating for stricter advertising regulation, the AANA is there to defend our current system, which is a gold standard system. We also have proactive role and that is to take the industry on a journey of where we feel the hot topics are, where there could be pressure for regulation and ask “what can industry do for itself now, so that it continues to be, and be seen to be, responsible”? So that there’s no knee-jerk reaction from government – when there’s a new issue we can say “we’ve got that covered”, you can concentrate on some other industry.
- Now we’re going to talk about the standards in advertising – that’s the what. But let’s take a moment to think about the why – why are we talking about advertising standards Prof Richards believes that trust is key and it’s behaving ethically that breeds trust - aligning what is good for the customer with what is good for the company. That is what the AANA is all about – we’re the peak industry body representing advertisers in Australia – ensuring and promoting responsible marketing – ads that are legal, decent and honest – that have been prepared with a sense of obligation to the consumer and society in general.
- There are four AANA Codes, a motor vehicle code (of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries) and two initiatives of the Australian Food and Grocery Council which self-regulate food and beverage advertising to children. Today we’re going to look at the Code of Ethics and also the Children’s Code as there are some added requirements when advertising to children. The Food & Beverages Code and the Environmental Claims Code we’ll leave for another day.
- Advertising and marketing means different things to different people. In the Codes advertising and marketing is widely defined and there are two key elements: Reasonable degree of control And intention to promote
- The Codes are designed to be platform and technology neutral – they apply to all advertising and marketing communication. It’s the message not the media. The definition of marketing is deliberately broad and it is based on the premise marketing should meet community standards, no matter where it appears. The Codes do not apply to labels and packaging, public relations, or broadcast promotions (ie a promo for Big Brother shown in Channel 9). How it applies to the on line space is an interesting challenge for us all. As brands seek out the consumer in new and engaging ways, we are seeing an increase in brand presence Let’s have a look at some scenarios.
- A brand’s facebook page or other social media presence which are marketing communications are subject to the Codes. I mentioned before that public relations material is not covered by the Code but this is likely to change. This is because paying for a blogger or tweeter and providing the content for them really is marketing and not public relations. We would suggest that you treat all of a brand’s content as marketing. It’s all about what content you have reasonable control over. User generated content becomes part of a brand’s marketing communication if the brand has reasonable control over it. That means the brand has become aware of the content and is able to amend or remove it. If your brand posts a comment about a new product or people’s use of the product, and then this leads to fans/users commenting, then their posts and the brand’s original posts are all subject to the Codes and complaints can be made to the ASB. Of course, if a fan posts a comment at 2am on a Sunday morning, your brand won’t be held accountable until you are able to reasonably review the page. To help brands and their agencies in this space, we have developed a Best Practice Guideline – you can find it on our website
- Community standards are a vital concept in the AANA Codes. Let’s focus on the Code of Ethics. Community standards are determined by the Ad Standards Board and they are the standards which the community broadly expects to see in marketing communications. In terms of the community – who is relevant here? You are probably focussed on the target audience – that well defined demographic who your ad is designed for. This audience is important as you understand them and their tolerance for depictions, images and language. However, there are others in your audience who will also see and engage with your ad. This broad audience is relevant to understanding community standards – this includes children of course. There is a set of restrictions, portrayal of people, sexual appeal, violence and health and safety which are subject to generally community standards. For these restrictions the community standards of the broader audience is relevant, not just your target audience. Refer to pictures on slide.
- Refer to pictures on slide.
- When it comes to looking at sex, sexuality and nudity and language, the more targeted audience in media like magazines will determinate community standards. This means that if you can identify a more narrow audience, then what is appropriate for images of sex, sexuality and nudity and language is determined by that audience. So a brand’s facebook followers or the readers of Zoo weekly, will have a different tolerance for sex and nudity and language. Refer to examples on slide Be aware of these images in the outdoor space, and have a think about children and families in the audience.
- When it comes to having kids in ads, or advertising to kids - take extra care! Now we’re going to look at how we determine if advertising of a product is directed primarily to children and also what special precautions you need to take when advertising your product to kids or ads that has kids in them. By kids - we mean children under 14 years. Advertising to kids isn’t every ad a kid might see, nor is it every animated ad with animal characters. It’s a combination of factors. So here primarily – means in the first instance. This allows advertising to families and groceries buyers, albeit for products a child might enjoy. The product is defined as goods/services or facilities which are targeted to children and have principal appeal to children. ---------------------- This television advertisement showcases the Hot Wheels Max-D monster truck product twirling and moving around in a simulated stadium environment. We see Hot Wheels cars move along the orange track, and slam into the Max D. The advertisement ends with a product pack shot scene, following by an end tag with a call-to-action for viewers to visit the website which helps kids to write a templated "letter to santa". Complaint - This advertisement is on after toys advertised saying "Please add this on your letter to Santa" Is this fair? Should we encouraged children to add expensive gifts on Santa letters, some parents can not afford lots of gifts at Christmas. The Board considered that the suggestion to "add the toy to your letter to santa.com" was an appeal to children to urge someone to obtain the product for them and this was urging parents to purchase this toy and that in doing so did breach section 2.7(b) of the Children’s Code.
- To determine whether an ad is directed primarily to children you need to consider to these factors: the nature of product or service – is it of principal appeal to children or is it an ad for a product that is more generally enjoyed by adults or families for example. A product could be of principal appeal to a child but the advertising might be directed at the adult to purchase the particular toy – in which case it falls outside this code child’s perspective – does the ad use children’s characters or themes. Some ads use imagery reminiscent of say childhood and that that ad may be directed at adults – not kids. If an ad features stories told through a child’s eyes, using child characters it’s usually directed primarily to children. Storyline – simple, uncomplicated plot structure – directed at children. If the ad employs more complex story structure and rapid transitions it’s unlikely that its directed at children. Language – use age appropriate language that can be comprehended by a child under 14
- Not undermine parental authority No implication of superiority over other children No implication that people who buy the product are more generous than those who don’t Accuracy of prices – not “only” or “just” Disclaimer must be understood by children Clear information about competitions Rules about premiums – incidental No associations with alcohol or companies that supply alcohol Not encourage inactivity combined with unhealthy eating or drinking Sexual appeal - If you are using images of children in an ad be really careful. Don’t use sexual appeal, and be careful of the storyline. Don’t use imagery that could be seen to be contravening prevailing community standards. Parental authority – As I mentioned earlier in the Monster truck ad - Advertising and marketing communications must not undermine the authority, responsibility or judgement of a parent or carer. Neither should it employ pester power techniques - asking the child to urge their parent to buy product/service - Safety - advertising shouldn’t show unsafe uses of a product which would encourage children into unsafe activities. For a full overview check out at our practice note on advertising to children - it brings together work from child psychologists about engaging with children and marries it with community standards.
- This is an image from an internet Witchery clothing ad. The still image was taken from a Witchery TV ad where kids are seen dancing to music. The complaint was that the ad sexualised the young girl with a focus on her crotch. Model wearing age appropriate clothing however the image is cropped and shows the girl in what might be considered a more adult pose with her legs apart Complaint was upheld – found In breach of Code 2.4 “Advertising or marketing communications shall treat sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity to the relevant audience.” Case Number : 0003/12 Advertiser : Way Funky Company Pty Ltd Product : Clothing Type of Advertisement/ media : Print Date of Determination : 08/02/2012 DETERMINATION : Dismissed Minority of Board : children posed as adults, sexualises children Majority of Board : not sexualised, consistent with 1960s theme No males in advert Doesn’t breach 2.4
- Contact AANA if you receive a complaint from ASB – we can help with your response to ASB
- Contact AANA if you receive a complaint from ASB – we can help with your response to ASB