The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulatory body that oversees advertising across all media in the UK. It applies advertising codes to ensure ads are truthful, honest and do not harm or offend consumers. The ASA is funded by a small levy placed on advertising spending and income from seminars. It operates independently from government and industry to adjudicate complaints about potential code violations. The ASA has received complaints about ads from charities like Barnardo's containing disturbing images and supermarket ads like Tesco for issues with small print and misleading savings claims.

1. Regulatory body
The Advertising standards authority is the independent body which regulates all advertising
in the UK across all media.
You need to have a detailed understanding of how this regulatory body works and the codes
of practice as this will have an influence on the plans for your advertising campaign.
How is the ASA funded? The ASA isfundedbyadvertisersthroughanarm’slength
arrangementthatguaranteesthe ASA’sindependence.
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 found this at https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asa-and-cap/about-regulation/our-
funding.html
What does the ASA do? The AdvertisingStandardsAuthorityisthe UK’sindependent
regulatorof advertisingacrossall media.We applythe AdvertisingCodes,whichare written
by the Committeesof AdvertisingPractice.Ourworkincludesactingoncomplaintsand
proactivelycheckingthe mediatotake actionagainstmisleading,harmful oroffensive
advertisements.
I foundthisat https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asa-and-cap/about-regulation/about-the-asa-
and-cap.html
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 systemworks 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 systemis 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.

2. 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 systemworks successfully, the UK Government has not needed to
regulate directly. However, that doesn’t 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.
I found this at https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asa-and-cap/about-regulation/self-
regulation-and-co-regulation.html
How does regulation workafter an advertisement has appeared and what
sanctions can the ASA impose? Even though many steps are taken to ensure ads are
in line with the Codes before they are aired or published, consumers have the right
to complain about ads they have seen, which they believe to be misleading, harmful
or offensive.
The ASA can act on just one complaint. We don’t play a numbers game: our concern
is whether the Codes have been breached.
I found this at https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asa-and-cap/about-regulation/self-
regulation-and-co-regulation.html
The ASA has had complaints to change certain ads from barnardos due to
inappropriate pictures. These include- Barnardo’s, 2008 The ASA received 840
complaints about this Barnardo’s ad campaign, which was designed to raise
awareness of domestic child abuse. The TV campaign featured repeated scenes of
violence and drug-taking, which many viewers found upsetting and not suitable for
broadcast at times when children were likely to be watching. We did not doubt the
distress or offence described by many of the complainants. However, we considered
the ads were appropriately scheduled and their aim justified the use of strong
imagery.
Tesco also had a lot of complaints for their adverts because of their small print on
their clothing lines.
Tesco Stores Ltd
Tesco House
Delamare Road
Cheshunt
Hertfordshire
EN8 9SL
Date:
2 March 2016
Media:
National press
Sector:
Retail
Number of complaints:

3. 1
Agency:
Bartle Bogle Hegarty Ltd
Complaint Ref:
A13-248702
Ad
ASA Adjudication on Tesco Stores Ltd
Claims on a website for a supermarket, www.tesco.com, seen on 23 October 2013,
stated "Hobgoblin 4x440ml Can ... SAVE 49p Was £4.99 Now £4.50 valid from
23/10/2013 until 12/11/2013".
Issue
The complainant, who understood that the product had been available for £4 for
three months until 7 October 2013, challenged whether the promotion was
misleading because:
1. they understood that the product had not been available at the higher price for a
reasonable period of time; and
2. The product was still being sold at the lower price after the promotion had closed.
I found this at https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/tesco-stores-ltd-a13-248702.html