Be ad smart

Media literacy

The ability to understand and safely interact with the media is important if we are to enjoy the many benefits it can bring. Media such as the internet, mobile phones, TV and the print media, to name but a few, can greatly enrich our lives by providing entertainment, education and greater access to our communities, families and friends.

Today’s media landscape is almost unrecognisable to the way it was even 10 years ago, but the fundamental role of advertisements has not changed. Put simply, ads offer a way for organisations to tell people about their brand and the products and services they offer.

Whatever you think of it, advertising is, in many ways, essential to the continued development of the media because frequently it funds the content and services available through them. For media owners, accepting ads generates the money to help them make programmes, develop content and provide media services at a vastly reduced price to the consumer. In many cases - for example online, TV and radio - consumers are even able to access the content for free.

Understanding Advertising Regulation

It’s the ASA’s role to make sure ads are “legal, decent, honest and truthful”.

If you are interested in finding out more about what we do, visit the About us section. We also have a regulation explained section, with information about what we cover and the Advertising Codes, as well as a page with answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. We have also a range of factsheets on our work in our resources section.

As well as understanding how bodies like the ASA work, it is also important that consumers have a good understanding and awareness of how media works, which is why the following organisations have produced materials and information directed at schools and colleges and the wider public.

Ofcom

The UK communications industry regulator, Ofcom, has a duty to promote media literacy, with a specific focus on electronic media. Ofcom has a number of information resources on their website along with links to other resources of interest.

Media Smart

Media Smart is an advertising-focused media literacy programme for school children aged 6 to 11 years old.

Media Smart develops and provides, free of charge and on request, educational materials to primary schools that teach children to think critically about advertising in the context of their daily lives.