Putting the “self” into self-regulation

25 April 2005

So what does the “self” in self-regulation actually mean?  CAP – the advertising industry’s Committee of Advertising Practice – is the “self” in the advertising regulatory regime. CAP’s work is often left in the shadow of that of the more high-profile ASA, however, it is no less important in upholding standards in UK advertising.

Whilst the ASA is busy making decisions on complaints, CAP quietly gets on with its work setting the standards for advertising content. One look at this year’s annual report will show how much work goes on behind the scenes to ensure that there is a level playing field in what advertisers say in their marketing material.

In addition to the Copy Advice service, which CAP provides free of charge to advertisers, CAP published four help notes during 2004 – on Ticket Pricing, Mobile Marketing, the Marketing of Publications and Marketing of Spiritual and Psychic Services – providing guidance to advertisers in these areas about what is expected of them under the non-broadcast CAP Code.

The creation of the one-stop shop for advertising complaints meant that a broadcast equivalent to CAP had to be established. This new organisation – CAP Broadcast (also known as BCAP) has similar responsibilities to CAP but for the broadcast media; to set, review and revise the television and radio advertising codes. However, any changes to the broadcast advertising codes must be endorsed by the communications regulator Ofcom.

CAP Broadcast has not been slow in showing that it expects the same high standards to apply to broadcast advertising as in the non-broadcast arena. Within its first two months of operation, a Help note was published on Price Indications and Comparisons in Teleshopping Advertising. This was in response to the large number of complaints which the ASA had received concerning teleshopping advertising, and following Ofcom’s ruling against Auctionworld (see the most complained about broadcast advertisements for further details).

 Full details on the work undertaken by CAP during 2004 can be found in the ASA Annual Report microsite – visit www.asa.org.uk/asa/annual_report for details.