Broadcast Advertiser Responsibility Key To Achieving Self Regulation

The possibility of broadcast advertising self-regulation, raised by the government’s Communications White Paper (see Chris Smith Unveils Ofcom), will first of all require the commitment of advertisers, according to the director general of the Advertising Association, Andrew Brown.

Brown made this comment during the annual ISBA conference on 29 March. Malcolm Earnshaw, ISBA’s director general added, “Right now, the challenge for us, as practising advertisers, is to live by the spirit of the [self regulatory CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice)] codes. If the goal of complete self-regulation is to be realised, the first step for us is to underline our commitment as responsible advertisers.”

It was felt by the conference that an effective route to reaching self-regulation will be convincing the government and the public that the current system of non-broadcast advertising regulation, run by the ASA, is a primary example of advertising self-regulation. Broadcast advertisers therefore need to be seen to comply closely with the ASA code, which in turn needs to be confidently and consistently enforced.

The White Paper suggested a willingness on the part of the government to entertain the possibility of broadcast advertising coming under a system of self-regulation, which would be overseen by the new communications regulator Ofcom.

ISBA: 020 7499 7502 www.isba.org.uk

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