'Fifteen minutes of Fame'
28 July 2005
The ASA has upheld a series of complaints about advertisements which are exaggerating the employment opportunities they can provide to budding actors, actresses and models.
Advertisements in this field commonly tempt hopefuls with grandiose headlines promising readers "Fifteen minutes of Fame" or the chance to star in well known TV shows and films. The ads in question appeared in regional press, specialist titles and on leaflets. On closer examination, it quickly became apparent to the ASA that many of these ads were misleading.
In fact, rather than offer the opportunity to apply directly for these roles, the ads were often for employment agencies that charged fees to market candidates to production and modelling companies. In addition, candidates were commonly charged fees to register or be included in a photo directory. Some advertisers also failed to provide their full name and contact details, contravening the CAP Code.
For example, a newspaper ad for Bromley Casting stated "Extras & Walk ons! Register for TV, films and commercials Harry Potter, Dr Who, Taggart etc currently in production". It then went on to claim its website was accessed "by leading casting directors, producers and production companies".
A complainant objected that the ad misleadingly implied that the advertiser was contracted to provide extras for the productions mentioned in the headline. On further investigation the ASA discovered that this was not the case and agreed with the complainant that the ad was misleading. It ordered the advertiser to withdraw the ad and not to use similar claims in the future.
An ad for Break 'A' Legg Model & Casting Agency was also upheld due to its misleading content. Its headline asked "Does your child have star quality?" and continued to invite readers to interviews forTV, film and theatre work. However, the ASA concluded that it was not clear that successful candidates would be charged for the service. It considered that was an important detail which would affect a reader's decision to attend the event. Consequently, the advertiser was told to amend the ad and consult the CAP Copy Advice team.
Following these incidences, some publications have added warnings next to the ads that readers may be charged fees for these services.
28 July 2005.