ASA Annual Report 2007: violence, race and sex dominate advertising complaints

29 April 2008

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Annual Report 2007, published today, reveals that a record number of advertisements (2,458) were changed or withdrawn last year. The number of advertisements complained about reached an all-time high of 14,080 - an increase of 9.6% on the year before.  The total number of complaints received was 24,192 - an increase of  7.9% on 2006.

The public’s main concerns about advertising in 2007 are illustrated by the Report’s list of the Top 10 most complained about ads. The depiction of violence, sex and race all generated high number of complaints (see Top 10 list in the report). The ASA also dealt with record numbers of complaints about environmental claims as advertisers increasingly sought to promote their ‘green’ credentials.

TV was by far the most complained about medium, generating 9,915 complaints. Significantly, internet advertising was the most complained about non-broadcast medium and the second most complained about medium overall. A total of 2,980 complaints were received about internet advertising, 2,144 of which related to the content of websites and as such were outside the ASA’s remit. The most common issues raised by the public about internet content were pricing, availability of goods and charges.

The Report also focuses on key policy developments in 2007 including the introduction of new tightened advertising codes for food and soft drink products. Gambling advertisements were allowed to appear on TV for the first time and robust and rigorous rules were put in place to ensure ads are socially responsible. Surveys of both the food and gambling sectors revealed a highly encouraging compliance rate with the new rules demonstrating the effectiveness of self-regulation.

At a glance, the ASA Annual Report reveals:

• The top three most complained about campaigns of 2007:
  • A Department of Health anti-smoking campaign which featured people with fish hooks in their mouths and which raised objections that it was offensive, frightening and distressing (774 complaints)
  • Cadburys’ TV ad for Trident chewing gum which people believed stereotyped and ridiculed black people (519 complaints)
  • TV ads by Kepak UK showing  a woman in her underwear on a rotating sofa which attracted complaints that it was offensive, sexist and demeaning to women (219 complaints)
• Complaints about environmental claims more than doubled year on year with 556 complaints about 408 ads
• There was a big increase in complaints about the depiction of violence. Three of the top 10 most complained about ads received complaints about violent imagery – the Department of Health’s ‘fish hook’ campaign, an MFI TV ad showing a woman slapping her husband and a TV ad for Quorn showing a teenager threatening her brother with a fork.
• Misleadingness accounted for nearly half of all complaints received, but offensiveness was the main reason for complaints about broadcast advertising
• The number of broadcast (TV & radio) complaints received increased by nearly 20% to 10,685 compared with 2006.
• The number of broadcast (TV & radio) complaints received increased by nearly 20% to 10,685 compared with 2006.

Launching the Annual Report, ASA Chairman, Lord (Chris) Smith said that his first year in post had been the ASA’s busiest ever with a record number of ads changed or withdrawn.  But he warned that the rising number of complaints about internet content posed a challenge to the self-regulatory system: “These complaints are almost entirely about truth, accuracy, misleadingness and availability – the “meat and drink” of the ASA’s daily work. We hope for an early outcome to the detailed discussions under way within the industry on the development of ways to ensure continued responsibility in advertising in new media settings."

Click here to view online or download the PDF of the ASA Annual Report 2007