ASA Clamps Down On Broadcaster’s Advertising

The Advertising Standards Authority’s monthly bulletin upheld complaints against BSkyB this month, criticising a magazine advertisement claiming that its service was the widest choice of TV provided by any supplier. The ASA ruled that the broadcaster had failed to justify the claim that it offered the widest choice of television, and therefore asked Sky to remove it.

EMAP Radio was also the subject of complaints after it ran a recruitment advert headlined ‘Alcohol Abusers Required’. The advertisers claimed that the advert was meant to be tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic, but the ASA decided that the advert was likely to cause serious and widespread offence as it trivialised the effects of alcohol abuse. The regulator acknowledged that EMAP Radio didn’t plan to use the ad again, and asked them not to use a similar approach in the future.

ASA: 0171 580 5555