ASA - Advertising Standards Authority

The ASA will be something that i will discuss in my project. I will talk about their role in protecting the public from offensive/shocking/misleading advertising. The public can complain about adverts and if there is enough, they will launch an investigation to see if it complies with advertising standard codes. Many shock adverts have been investigated by the ASA and i will look into how they operate and their effect on advertising as a whole.

This particular Phones 4 U advert was aired last year at Halloween time and was criticized for its scary content. The ASA would listen to people complaints and take action if need be to get the ad banned. This has been down with many advertising campaigns especially charitable ones which make use of shocking imagery. This is something i will discuss further in my written work.

The picture below by Barnardo’s is one of the many campaigns that they receive criticism for. This will also be analyzed and discussed in some of the pros and cons of shock tactics in advertising - how far should it be allowed to go?