ASA Revamps Brand Identity Ahead Of New Powers
The Advertising Standards Authority has unveiled a new brand identity as it prepares to assume responsibility for handling complaints about television and radio commercials.
From 1 November media regulator Ofcom will contract out the rules governing broadcast advertising to the ASA, in a move that will see the watchdog widen its existing remit from press and outdoor to cover consumer advertising complaints across all media.
The ASA this morning revealed its new identity to broadcasters, advertisers and agencies at a special business seminar scheduled to introduce the new regulatory structure. The new logo retains the ASA’s red tick concept and has been designed to work in an animated format onscreen, as well as in print.
Advertisers and broadcasters have already shown their support for the new system, which is designed to simplify the existing regulatory framework by bringing complaints about any paid-for advertising under one umbrella organisation.
The ASA will be accountable to Ofcom for its effectiveness in regulating broadcast advertising and will be able to refer any uncooperative parties to the media super regulator for further action. However, Ofcom will have no remit over the ASA’s non-broadcast activity, where the Office of Fair Trading will continue to provide a legal backstop for misleading ads.
The so-called ‘one-stop-shop’ organisation will be funded by advertisers via levies on display advertising and broadcast airtime. The levies will be collected and managed separately by two funding boards, preserving the ASA’s independence from the advertising industry.
The new regulatory framework will also see the creation of a new industry body called the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice, which will take charge of setting, reviewing and revising the broadcast advertising codes. However, any changes will still have to be approved by Ofcom.
Earlier this year Ofcom’s plans to introduce a new self-regulatory framework for broadcast advertising came under attack from a leading consumer watchdog, which claimed the system will give marketers a licence to run their own show (see Broadcast Self-Regulation Plans Comes Under Attack).
ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk
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