The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has launched a campaign in Scotland designed to rebuild public trust in advertising and promote its role in helping to keep all ads ‘legal, decent, honest and truthful’.
The ASA has taken famous advertising campaigns for brands and interpreted them in a fresh take to remind the public that all ads are fully regulated.
Straplines such as Churchill’s OOoh Yes, Mastercard’s Priceless and Marmite’s Love it or hate it feature in print, outdoor and online ads, while two TV 10-second and 20-second spots feature Churchill and Marmite.
The ‘legal, decent, honest and truthful’ campaign has been developed in partnership with the Advertising Association’s Trust Working Group and features creative by The Leith Agency and media planning by Mediacom. Other brands featured include Audi, IRN-BRU, Mastercard and Tesco.
ASA CEO, Stephen Woodford said: “The creative idea harnesses the power of some of Britain’s best-loved campaigns and is a tremendous demonstration of the industry support for our world-class self-regulatory system in the ASA and the creative strengths of the Scottish ad industry. We all have an interest in rebuilding public trust in advertising and I’m sure this campaign will play a key role in moving us forward in the right, positive direction.”
According to Credos, the industry’s think tank, public favourability towards advertising had hit an all-time low by 2019. The ASA’s Trust Working Group was hastily formed with members of the UK’s biggest advertisers, agencies, media owners, trade associations and tech platforms, and the news sparked debate, a re-appraisal of strategy, and ultimately the embracing of initiatives such as the IAB’s Gold Standard.
In February this year, a report from the Trust Working Group identified five practical steps advertisers can take to counter the problem.
Public response to this latest ASA initiative is being tracked as a test for further campaigns across other UK nations as part of the industry’s continued drive to rebuild public trust in advertising.
An ASA spokesperson added: “Provided it is successful, the plan is to roll this out UK-wide, ideally with more brands involved.”
