Page 301 - Law and the Media

Law and the Media
1. Advice: the Code is used as a ‘pre-publication guide’ for advertisers, agencies and
publishers in order to ensure compliance with its provisions
2. Resolving complaints: the Code is used as a ‘rulebook’ by which the ASA adjudicates
complaints by members of the public, consumer groups and companies who are misled or
offended by an advertisement
3. Research: spot checks are made each week by the ASA using the rules of the Code as
guidelines. The ASA can take action to have an advertisement withdrawn or changed
without having to wait for a complaint.

All advertisements and promotions in the non-broadcast media are covered by the Code.
These include:

Press: national, regional, magazines and free newspapers
Outdoor: posters, transport, aerial
Direct marketing: letters, leaflets, brochures, catalogues, circulars, mailing lists
Cinema commercials
Sales promotions: packaging, front page, reader offers, competitions and prize
draws
Internet: advertisements in ‘paid for space’ including banner and pop-up,
commercial emails and sales promotions, but not general product information on
web site ‘home pages’
Other electronic media, including advertisements on computer games, videos and
CD-Roms.

The ASA estimates that some 30 million press advertisements are published in the United
Kingdom each year. The ASA carries out around 10 000 spot checks each week, and receives
about 12 000 complaints each year.

18.2.2 Current edition

The Code is currently in its tenth edition, which came into force on 1 October 1999, with
Addendum 1 added on 23 April 2000.

18.2.3 The rules of the Code

1. The basic principle of the Code is that an advertisement should be:
Legal: it must not break the law or incite others to break the law.
Decent: it should not cause offence. Particular care should be taken to avoid
causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or
disability. However, the fact that a particular product may be offensive to some
people is not in itself a valid ground for objection to an advertisement for that
product.
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