IPA calls Cameron’s ad proposals “ill-thought-out”
The IPA has challenged the Conservative Party’s new proposals on advertising regulations, calling David Cameron’s suggestion “a classic example of policy on the fly”.
In response to the Tories pledge to clamp down on inappropriate marketing to children, Cameron has suggested that “parents should be able to complain via a specifically set-up website about offensive marketing tactics used by companies” and that “firms which flout the rules should not be allowed to bid for Government contracts for three years.”
However, the IPA’s director general Hamish Pringle said the proposal would “crash land when confronted with some facts”.
“You can’t just airbrush over nearly fifty years of the highest standards in legal, decent, honest and truthful advertising, governed by tough Codes, abided by over 95% of the time by advertisers and their agencies, and enforced by a world class self-regulator in the ASA,” Pringle said. “Cameron’s idea of a ‘specially set-up website’ would pull the rug out from under the ASA and is clearly ill-thought-out.”
“We’re also very concerned about his proposal that agencies that have had a complaint against one of their advertisements on the grounds of sexualisation should be banned from bidding for Government contracts for three years,” he added. “This smacks of double jeopardy since the agency would already have been penalised by having its ad withdrawn by the ASA at considerable cost to them and their client. Fortunately the ASA data shows the incidence of this happening is so small and in these rare cases is usually perpetrated by a non-IPA, non-COI agency, for a non-ISBA client that it makes the sanction irrelevant.”
The ASA surveys indicate that compliance levels with the advertising codes are generally very high (95%+), according to the IPA. ASA data also shows that the number of complaints about advertising in relation to children are just 10% of the total, with very few being upheld.
In a statement, the Advertising Association said it is “happy to continue working with Governments to ensure the industry adheres to what are already the most stringent regulatory codes in the world”.
“The ASA, as an independent body, robustly administers the rules to afford significant protection to young people and vulnerable groups from inappropriate or harmful content,” the statement added.
ISBA also released a statement in response to Cameron’s proposals: “Responsible advertisers share Cameron concerns on inappropriate marketing to children. David Cameron has raised real concerns about the inappropriate commercialisation of childhood and these are shared by responsible advertisers.
“But it is vitally important to say that the UK’s advertising codes, which we plan to reinforce and extend to cover websites, are strong. Advertisers remain open to discussing any appropriate and proportionate child-protection measures and we look forward to engaging with politicians in the coming months.”