Regulation

ASA – Advertising Standards Authority

The Advertising Standards Authority view all advertising within the media such as on the Television, Internet or Radio in the UK. The role of the ASA is dealing with complaints and looking at the advertising in the media to take action if they see any harmful or offensive advertisements where the public have complained. The ASA will apply Advertising Codes that are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice.

If the ASA judge an advertisement to be in breach of the UK Advertising Codes; it will be withdrawn or amended. In 2011 the ASA received 31,458 complaints about 22,397 cases and they checked thousands of adverts. Once the ASA viewed all the adverts that had been complained about; their work resulted to 4,591 adverts being changed or withdrawn.

In the L'Oreal advertisement featuring Rachel Weisz has been banned in the UK for "misleadingly exaggerating" the anti-wrinkle cream's promised effect. Britain's advertising watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority ruled against the two-page spread that says, "It's not a face lift, it's Revitalift."

The ASA released a statement saying:

“Although we considered that the image in the ad did not misrepresent the luminosity or wrinkling of Rachel Weisz's face, we considered that the image had been altered in a way that substantially changed her complexion to make it appear smoother and more even.”

Just last year, Maybelline and Lancôme ads featuring Christy Turlington and Julia Roberts, were banned by the ASA for over-the-top air brushing. However L’Oreal still continued to Photoshop Rachel Weisz to show a false effect on the anti-winkle cream.

I also researched that British lawmakers tried and failed to ban all Photoshopping in ads in 2009. Similar bans have actually been discussed in the U.S., which have been inspired by the Photoshopped ad for ‘Cover Girl’ mascara.

The E-lites advertisement is legal to be shown because E-Lites cigarettes aren’t real cigarettes – they are a solution to normal cigarettes. However no cigarettes advertisements can be shown as they are all banned as you can see below.

Alan Milburn who is a a health secretary wants to reduce the number of smoking-related deaths, by highlighting the introduction of a ban on tobacco advertising on billboards and in the press and he proposed this to the goverment on 13/02/2003. Mr Milburn joined Public Health Minister Hazel Blears in Lambeth in south London to raise awareness of the ban.

They both pulled down a 48-sheet billboard advert to reveal the message: "Tobacco advertising - we can live without it. Don't give up giving up."

This advert which had until this morning shown a cigarette brand, also includes a helpline number for smokers wanting to quit. Mr Milburn said he hoped up to 3,000 lives could be saved each year because of the ban.

He added: "Tobacco advertising and sponsorship have acted as a recruiting sergeant for children and young teenagers to start the tobacco habit.

"Adverts have sought to get more people to smoke by conveying the idea that smoking is glamorous when in fact it is dangerous.

"They have tried to get more people to smoke by pretending it enhances quality of life when in fact it serves to shorten people's lives." It is estimated that about 1.6 million people in Britain would have seen tobacco advertising on billboards on any given day last year.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotions Act 2002 became law in November 2002 and also includes a ban on in-pack promotion schemes and direct marketing from May 14 2003, as well as restricting Internet advertising and sponsorship of sporting or other events by cigarette companies.

All the other advertisements I analysed are legal to be shown. If any advert breached the UK Advertising Codes, the ASA would deal with cases as quickly as possible. Each complaint will take a different length of time to resolve.