ASA Adjudication on The Way to Happiness Foundation International

Ad

A TV ad, for The Way to Happiness Foundation, featured a series of shots of people around the world engaged in religious practices, including a Buddhist Monk sounding a gong, a man kissing the Weeping Wall, a large group of Muslims praying, a man with a rosary, a Hindu temple and morning prayers at a Mosque. At the end of the ad, text appeared on screen which stated "RESPECT THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF OTHERS". This was replaced by The Way to Happiness Foundation's logo and their website address.

Issue

A viewer believed the ad was misleading because she believed The Way to Happiness Foundation (TWTHF) was part of the Church of Scientology and the true identity of the advertiser was omitted from the ad.

BCAP TV Code

Response

TWTHF said they were not part of the Church of Scientology, but a non-religious public benefit corporation, which had maintained an independent existence since its incorporation in 1984.  They said it was run by its own Board of Directors, none of whom were employed by, or an officer or director of, any religious organisation. They said TWTHF was not known by any other name, including, but not limited to, the Church of Scientology.  The said their specific purpose was to raise the moral standards of society through education and dissemination of a common-sense moral code, and their programme of activities was based on L. Ron Hubbards book The Way to Happiness.   They said, although L. Ron Hubbard was widely known as the Founder of Scientology, the non-religious book was written for broad use throughout society and applied to anyone regardless of religious faith or philosophy and not confined to one faith tradition.  TWTHF believed there was nothing religious or doctrinal about any of the principles in the book, which they said were simple good advice for the most basic of lifes needs.  They said schools, prisons, athletes and companies and Government departments throughout the world used the book.  They said their objective was to disseminate a common-sense moral code, not to promote a religious, doctrinal or political message.  

TWTHF said the message of the TV ad was to encourage people to respect the religious beliefs of others and included a number of religious images, but no particular doctrine received prominence or was being promoted.  They believed it was clear from their logo and website address in the ad who it was that was advertising.

Clearcast said they sought reassurance when clearing the script that TWTHF had no overt links to Scientology, which, if that had been the case, would need to have been stated in the ad.  They said they were told by TWTHF that the Foundation was not part of any Scientology church and maintained a completely independent existence as a corporate entity and was recognised by the United States Internal Revenue Service as an independent charity.  They told Clearcast that they were funded by donations from people, companies, Government agencies and schools who bought the book.  Because L. Ron Hubbard wrote the book, many of their individual supporters would be Scientologists, but they did not believe this could be interpreted as being funded by Scientology.  Clearcast said, having seen the book, they were satisfied that TWTHF had no strong links to Scientology, but sought a final view from their Copy Committee. They were also content that TWTHF had no particular links with Scientology and agreed the ad should be approved.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA understood that TWTHF had been in existence since 1984, was recognised by the US Internal Revenue Service as a charity in its own right, and its Articles of Incorporation contained no reference to Scientology.  We noted that the booklet they distributed to fund the Foundation did not refer to Scientology, but was a guide to moral conduct.  We also noted that the ad did not make any substantial claims other than a call to respect the religious beliefs of others.  We acknowledged that, because the Founder of the Church of Scientology wrote the book, the Foundation would be of interest and receive support from Scientologists, but we nonetheless considered that TWTHF was likely to be seen to be maintaining its own identity and advertising on its own behalf.  We considered that it was clear from the logo and website address in the ad that TWTHF was responsible for the ad.  Because we considered that the ad did not misrepresent the identity of the advertisers, we concluded that it was unlikely to mislead viewers.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 (Misleading advertising) and 10.16 (Identification) but did not find it in breach.   

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)