Advertising Standards Authority releases latest Complaints Decisions

• 8 advertisements across online, social media and in app advertising were found to be in breach of the Advertising Standards Authority Code on grounds related to a range of issues including Misleading, Substantiation, Environment, Children, Gambling and Health and Beauty 

• In one case the Complaints Committee issued a Statement

The Advertising Standards Authority independent Complaints Committee has released its latest Complaints Bulletin, which contains 11 case reports on complaints recently investigated by the organisation.

6 of the 11 cases were upheld in full and 2 of the 11 cases were upheld in part. Advertisements across online, social media and in app advertising were found to be in breach of the ASAI Code on grounds related to Misleading, Substantiation, Environment, Children, Gambling and Health and Beauty. One interested party complaint was received and resulted in a Statement being issued with advice for future advertising. The Complaints Committee chose not to uphold two complaints.

 The Complaints Committee is a completely independent arm of the Advertising Standards Authority and is responsible for considering and adjudicating on complaints submitted by the public, by an organisation, by a Government Department, or any other person or body. The Committee is made up of a range of experts from the advertising, media, education, consumer, and marketing sectors.

Commenting on the latest Advertising Standards Authority rulings, Orla Twomey, Chief Executive of the ASA, stated:

“The latest complaints bulletin from the Advertising Standards Authority shows the scope of the organisation across the Irish advertising industry, and the important role we have ensuring that advertisements are legal, truthful, decent and honest for all Irish consumers across all platforms. The ASA fully investigates all complaints thoroughly to ensure that advertisers in Ireland are not in breach of the high standards in the ASA Code.”

“The Advertising Standards Authority also provides a free and confidential copy advice service to the advertising industry to help them create responsible ads that adhere to the advertising code. If an advertiser, agency, or medium has any concerns about a marketing communications’ compliance with the Advertising Standards Authority’s Code, they can contact us and avail of the free and confidential copy advice service.”

A list of the 8 advertisements that have been found to be in breach of the ASA Code can be found here.

The ASA conducts ongoing monitoring of advertising across all media and since 2007, has examined over 27,000 advertisements, with an overall compliance rate of 98 percent. The ASA Monitoring Service monitors compliance with the Complaints Committee’s adjudications.