Industry
Our aim is make sure that all UK advertising, wherever it appears is legal, decent, honest and truthful and our preferred approach is to work with, rather than against, advertisers, agencies and media to achieve this.
To prevent problems from arising in the first place, there is a wealth of advice resources available, many of them free. From this section you can find direct links to the advice and training resources provided by CAP.
You will also find advice on how our process works if someone has made a complaint about your ad and advice on making a complaint about a competitor.
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Access the UK Advertising Codes, which lay down the rules for advertisers, agencies and media owners to follow.
Clicking on this section will take you to the Committee of Advertising Practice website, the body responsible for writing the Codes we administer.
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There is lots of free advice available from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), the bodies that write the Advertising Codes. They provide bespoke advice on campaigns, plus a fully searchable online database of authoritative advice on hundreds of issues. They keep their advice up-to-date in light of ASA rulings.
Clicking on this section will take you to the advice and training section of the CAP website.
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The ASA can look into complaints about a competitor’s advertising, but we ask for evidence that you’ve attempted to resolve your concern directly with them first.
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We deal with most types of ads but not all, but if we can’t deal with your complaint or query ourselves, we will try to help you contact the right body. This section will tell you which types of ads we look into, and which ones we don’t.
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Our focus is on providing a fair and thorough process for all involved. If you have recently been contacted by the ASA because someone has complained about your advertising or marketing material visit this section for advice on our procedures.
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In certain circumstances, you can request an Independent Review of an ASA Council ruling, including a Council decision not to investigate a complaint further.
Read more
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The vast majority of advertisers and broadcasters comply with ASA rulings, however for the small minority who don’t, there are consequences. Our main aim is to bring about compliance with the Advertising Codes, rather than punish advertisers. However, some of the sanctions at our disposal can be very detrimental to those who choose not to comply.
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We often uses experts and resources from other bodies to help advise us on certain matters relating to ads. This ensures consistency, transparency and clarification on subjects relating to complaints, helping us to reach an informed decision.
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Consistency is a principle of good regulation; it helps to create clarity which leads to good practice amongst businesses. Something that is good both for industry and consumers.
