The Content of Advertisements in Britain - Case Study Example

How are complaints about the content of advertisements investigated in the United Kingdom and how effective is the process? The violation of law through advertising has become a common phenomenon in all developed countries worldwide. The level at which this problem is addressed in each country is differentiated, in accordance with the local ethics and social perceptions on the particular activity. In Britain, the opposition of advertisements to the law has been related to their negative effects on health; in this context, advertisements that promote tobacco or unhealthy eating habits have been set under investigation (Lancaster and Lancaster 2003, Harrison and Cantor 1997, in Hargrave and Livingstone 215, 216). The process through which the content of advertisements in Britain is checked is clearly described in the relevant laws – including the rules of the Advertising Standards Authority, the authority that holds the responsibility for the alignment of advertisements with the law. It should be noted that the specific process is not related to particular political trends or beliefs; rather, it operates independently; this view is verified by the fact that the relevant efforts have been supported – since their first appearance in Britain - by the Labour and the Conservatives (Paulu 69); no differentiation has been identified in the willingness of the above parties to control the violation by advertisements of the local laws. In order to understand the process through which advertisements in UK are controlled for their content, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the laws used for the regulation of the particular activity. At a first level, it should be made clear that the opposition of the content of advertisements to the existing laws is considered as a violation of the relevant laws; this is a rule applicable on all advertisements – no matter if they are published in Britain or in the EU territory. In the last case, however, there is a power of the appropriate European authorities – referring to the European Standards Advertising Alliance – to intervene (Chissick and Kelman 246). This perspective needs to be mentioned in this paper, since Britain is a member of the European Union. Moreover, it should be made clear that in the context of European Union territory the content of advertisements is controlled using the ‘International Chamber of Commerce’s Code of Advertising Practice’ (Chissick and Kelman 246). This means that in Britain also, the potential use of the above legislative text cannot be rejected; however, the local laws regulating Advertising should be primarily used – reference would be made to the above legislative framework if the judges of the national courts consider such initiative as necessary. On the other hand, in a relevant report of the House of Lords it is noted that the European legal framework related to Advertising is not of particular value for the British market, since the national law on the specific field address all aspects of the specific activity, i.e. there are no gaps to be filled by the European legislation (Parliament, House of Lords 157). However, the above laws (European laws on Advertising) would be particularly valuable in the case of advertising developed in the context of electronic commerce – which is not limited in terms of boundaries. As for the British legal framework in regard to advertising, this is mainly consisted by the Advertising Codes – the ‘UK Code of Broadcast Advertising and the UK Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing’ (ASA organization, website, Advertising Codes). It should be noted that the ‘ Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice’ (ASA organization, website, Advertising Codes) have the responsibility for the development and the monitoring of the above Codes. The complaints related to the content of advertisements in Britain are investigated following a specific process – as set in the laws mentioned above. The Advertising Standards Authority has the power to investigate the above complaints and impose the punishment stated in the Codes – under the terms that a violation of the relevant laws is identified. In accordance with Chissick and Kelman, a significant increase has been reported to the number of complaints made before the above Authority in regard to the content of advertisements in Britain; it is noted that in 200 the specific Authority had to investigate approximately 300 such complaints – while in 1996, only 8 complaints regarding the content of advertisements were made across Britain (Chissick and Kelman 247). Because of the above phenomenon, the Advertising Standards Authority introduced limits regarding its potential to intervene in such cases; more specifically, it was set that the Authority would intervene in complaints regarding the content of online advertisements only if these advertisements belong to one of the following categories: ‘a) for online advertisements in ‘paid for’ space, b) for advertisements in commercial e-mails and c) for sales promotion’ (Chissick and Kelman 247). The investigation of a complaint related to the content of an advertisement in Britain is developed in the following phases: at a first level, the complaint needs to be made to the Advertising Standards Authority; a panel will examine the specific complaint as of its potential legal effects; in other words, the violation of one of the rules of the Codes – as described above – through a specific advertisement will be investigated. If it is found that such violation occurred, then the firm/ individual responsible for the particular advertisement will be asked to ‘take the ad out of circulation’ (Hackley 233); additional measures are also possible. For instance, the panel that will examine the particular complaint may decide ‘to censure the agency involved’ (Hackley 233) in the specific advertising. Under certain circumstances, suggestions are made by ASA not for the withdrawal but for the amendment of a specific advertisement (Chissick and Kelman 247). Furthermore, the decision of ASA regarding the above complaint will be published in ‘the ASA’s monthly report’ (Chissick and Kelman 247); a relevant publication will be also made to the Authority’s website (Hackley 233). A different way of action for complaining for the content of an advertisement is proposed in the study of Smith (2001). It is noted that there is always the option to submit the complaint to the Director General of Fair Trading – not in ASA; this option is particularly valuable for complaints, which were not given adequate attention by ASA – as Smith suggests (Smith 121). The above Director can investigate the complaint – measuring the interests of all parties involved, especially the public interest – and can ask for the withdrawal of the advertisement or other appropriate measure, as judged by the terms and the facts of each specific case (Smith 121). The provision to the public of the right to ask for the investigation of the content of advertisements is particularly important taking into consideration the number of advertisements published daily – through the press, the media or the Internet – and the number of children who have access to them; in fact, in the study of Gunter, Oates & Blades (2005) it is noted that in Britain, children are exposed to, approximately, ‘10 food-related advertisements for every hour of television’ (Gunter, Oates & Blades 17). A common argument of marketers regarding the content of advertisements is that this content is decided not only on the needs of the firm involved but also on the preferences and the characteristics of the targeted consumers (Albertazzi & Cobley 158). In other words, the public is held responsible equally with the firm that ordered a particular advertisement for the content of the specific advertisement; however, such way of thinking has not been adopted by the legislator. At this point, the effectiveness of the process described above should be evaluated. The improvement of quality of advertisements under the pressure of the Advertising Codes cannot be denied; however, in many cases, the benefits resulted for the public have been less compared to the benefits resulted for the market. An example of this case is presented in the study of Brierley (2002). In accordance with the above researcher, ‘since the ban of the tobacco advertisements in TV, the profits of the outdoor media have been significantly increase’ (Brierley 92). However, it should be noted that, in cases where the content of advertisements were against the public interest, the use of the above right has been proved particularly effective; reference can be made for example to the advertisement of the drug thalidomide – Sunday Times, 1972; the above advertisement was withdrawal after ‘an action for compensation started by the editor Harold Evans, in 1972’ (Franklin 225). It should be noted that the effectiveness of the process can be depended on a series of factors, mainly its direct relevance to the public interest, but also its relationship with the laws regulated each specific market sector. For instance, in the medicine sector, the complaints regarding the content of advertisements are investigated by referring to the potential violation of the ‘Medicines (Monitoring of Advertising) Regulations Act 1994’ (Merrills & Fisher 126). In any case, the authorities involved in the process – ASA or Director of Fair Trading or other appropriate authority – need to examine carefully the existence of public interest and, especially, its violation by a specific advertisement. Only then measures should be taken for the withdrawal or the amendment of the particular advertisement. The submission of complaints for the content of advertisements can be considered as an important tool for enforcement of the laws regulating the particular activity. Without the above mechanism, it would be difficult for the authorities to enforce these laws within the local market. Works Cited Advertising Standards Authority. 8 March 2011 . Albertazzi, Daniele & Cobley, Paul. Media: An Introduction.Essex: Pearson Education, 2010. Brierley, Sean. The advertising handbook. London: Routledge, 2002. Chissick, Michael & Kelman, Alistair. Electronic commerce: law and practice. London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2002. Franklin, Bob. Pulling newspapers apart: analysing print journalism. Oxon: Taylor & Francis, 2008. Gunter, Barrie, Oates, Caroline & Blades, Mark. Advertising to children on TV: content, impact, and regulation. London: Routledge, 2005. Hackley, Chris. Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Approach. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2009. Hargrave, Andrea & Livingstone, Sonia. Harm and offence in media content: a review of the evidence. Bristol: Intellect Books, 2009. Merrills, Jonathan & Fisher, Jonathan. Pharmacy law & practice. London: Elsevier, 2006. Parliament: House of Lords: European Union Committee. Television without frontiers?: report with evidence, 3rd report of session 2006-07. London: The Stationery Office, 2007. Paulu, Burton. Television and radio in the United Kingdom. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1981 Smith, Simon. Image, persona and the law. London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2001. The Stationery Office. The British Film and Television Industries: Decline Or Opportunity? 1st Report of Session 200-10: Vol. 2 Evidence: House of Lords Paper 37-ii Session 2009-10. London: The Stationery Office, 2010. Read More