This used to be the strap line in the Advertising Standards Authority ads reminding marketers of their obligations under the advertising practice codes and the relevant law. Today, the ASA still regularly field complaints about the claims made in digital and offline advertisements.
As we alerted you in a previous post, the ASA’s 01/03/2011 online extensions to the marketing guidelines mean the self-regulatory CAP code now applies to websites, PPC, social media conversations, promotional video and email marketing, in addition to more obvious advertisement formats. Press releases and natural search do not come under the guidelines.
The majority of consumer complaints are about ‘misleading’ rather than ‘offensive’ advertising, and it is not always apparent how ‘misleading’ will be officially interpreted. There have been 23 claims about email marketing this year alone, many of which have been upheld:
Sometimes one word can make all the differenceThe ASA's adjudications summary provides a welcome touchstone in this still evolving area of legal interpretation of the ASA guidelines.
Reviewing recent adjudications gives you practical guidance on how to achieve the finer points of compliance. Sometimes one word can make all the difference; for example, a travel company could have avoided a complaint being upheld against it simply by inserting ‘from’ in front of a limited availability holiday offer price.
If you haven’t already, it’s worth signing up for the ASA’s weekly alerts. Or, use advanced search to gain an instant snapshot of the adjudication areas you're particularly interested in, by media type, market sector, code and/or date.
Thanks to Pritesh Patel for alerting us to this update service.
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