Future proofing advertising freedom
09 March 2006
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Chairman, Lord Borrie QC has challenged the advertising industry to protect its interests by engaging with the question: Is self-regulation still the best way to protect advertising freedom? Delivering a keynote speech at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) Annual Conference (09/03/06), he will also announce that he is to stand down next year after six years at the helm.
Lord Borrie will outline the current challenges to self-regulation such as food advertising, threats of legislation from Brussels and Whitehall as well as the emergence of new media. He will highlight that whilst the ad industry finds itself under intense scrutiny from Government, consumer bodies and the public, the ASA is also subject to critical examination. The two-year probationary period of the 'one-stop shop' ends on 31 October and both Ofcom and the industry need to decide if this remains the best way forward.
His speech will pay tribute to the industry for making self-regulation work. But it will also underline the importance of having an independent referee, even if an effective regulator is not popular with the industry they regulate.
Whilst advertisers may not agree with every decision, independent research suggests that the new system is working for both consumers and advertisers alike. Levels of satisfaction with the way in which the ASA works are high.
Lord Borrie will also emphasize the need to 'future proof' self-regulation if it is to remain viable. He will urge the industry to take on the regulatory challenges of new media. As new technologies alter the ways in which advertisers target and reach their consumers, so the advertising rules need to adapt; and new media players need to ensure their views are represented before the revision of the advertising codes next year.
Delegates will be warned that consumers expect 'senior brands' to create 'safe spaces' where content can be trusted. Brand reputation will help by acting as a signpost to consumers that the content they are viewing is acceptable and trustworthy. ASA consumer research into attitudes to self-regulation and new media reveals consumers have the same expectations of honesty and truthfulness of ads and brands in new media as they do in conventional media, underlining the message that advertisers' responsibilities should extend across all advertising formats.
Lord Borrie will stress that the current ASA model can be adapted to meet future challenges and maintain consumer confidence in advertising. He concludes by challenging advertisers to protect the self-regulatory system they founded. "If self-regulation is to remain a bulwark against threats to the freedom to advertise responsibly, it has to be effective in new media as well as old. If the current system isn't shown to be working then the industry faces an alternative of intervention by heavy-handed legislation. The industry's actions will decide whether self-regulation is indeed 'future proof'".
Click here to read Lord Borrie's speech