Sport Newspapers go offside

15 October 2004

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has referred Sport Newspapers to the Office of Fair Trading for consideration of legal action under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988.

The referral follows an upheld ASA adjudication against the publishers of the Daily and Sunday Sport published on the ASA website on March 24th 2004. The ASA ruled that a Daily Sport front page flash stating: "DAILY Sport 10p Today" was misleading because it implied that the newspaper was available for 10p when the price of the newspaper was 40p. The 10 pence promotion was for a magazine offer. Click here to read the adjudication.

Sport Newspapers refused to sign an assurance that they would comply with the ASA's ruling and, following a similar promotion that appeared in the Sunday Sport on May 23rd 2004, the ASA asked the Office of Fair Trading to consider taking legal action.

ASA Director of Advertising Practice, Roger Wisbey, said that Sports Newspapers' refusal to co-operate with the ASA had led to the referral: "Publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies all have a responsibility to comply with the advertising industry's own code of practice, The CAP Code. Sport Newspapers have persisted in publishing misleading promotions and so the ASA has resorted to the self-regulatory system's legal backstop by asking the OFT to consider further action."

The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988, as amended in 2000, are the statutory powers by which the OFT can prevent the continued appearance of misleading advertisements. The ASA's self-regulatory controls are the 'established means' for implementing the Regulations.