Advertising has standards?!?

July 17, 2013

     After class today, we got to sit in on a very informational presentation at the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. They apply the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice. Their work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.

 

One particular issue that stuck out to me at the presentation was the ASA's discretion on altered images via Photoshop. In the states, it's commonplace for many print ads (especially those related to cosmetics) to be altered to enhance a product or brand, but that sort of practice just doesn't fly in the UK. I think banning said adverts is excellent and very practical and it blows my mind that there isn't any sort of regulatory body like that in the states.

Here is the example the ASA showed as one of their banned ads and one of adverts that received the most complaints.