ASA

Rhi Gemma & Ellen

About ASA
“Our aim at the ASA is to ensure that “Our mission”-
consumers do not just enjoy the ads they ASA
see, but they can trust them too.” To ensure that
The ASA is in place to regulate adverts advertising in all
from television ads to leaflets. media is legal,
decent, honest and
They receive no government funding
truthful, to the
They have authority yet it is not the law. benefit of
The ASA is wholly funded by advertisers consumers, business
through a levy on advertising spend  and society.
0.1% on display advertising expenditure
and airtime and;
0.2% of the Royal Mail's Mailsort contract.
The Owner
The fifteen-strong Council is led by
Chairman, Rt Hon Lord Smith of
Finsbury.
The ASA senior management team
is the executive decision-making
body responsible for setting the
direction for the organisation,
overseeing the management of our
core responsibilities and ensuring
the delivery of our objectives in
line with our standards of
service. The ASA senior
management team is led by Chief
Executive, Guy Parker.
How many Ads have they banned?
Each year, the UK public sees many millions of ads, direct
marketing and digital communications about products,
services, charities, causes and awareness campaigns. The vast
majority of these are responsible and comply with the existing
advertising rules.  
Last year we received just over 26,000 complaints and
assessed thoroughly every one of those concerns,
investigating the ads that seemed to breach the rules.  
As a result, nearly 2,500 ads were changed or withdrawn in
2008, thanks to a range of effective sanctions at our disposal
and the cooperation of advertisers who respect our decisions..
Complaints-
statistics
“Each year, the UK public sees
many millions of ads, direct
marketing and digital
communications about products,
services, charities, causes and
awareness campaigns. The vast
majority of these are responsible
and comply with the existing
advertising rules.  
Last year we received just over
26,000 complaints and assessed
thoroughly every one of those
concerns, investigating the ads that
seemed to breach the rules.  
As a result, nearly 2,500 ads were
changed or withdrawn in 2008,
thanks to a range of effective
sanctions at our disposal and the
cooperation of advertisers who
respect our decisions..”
 COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
7.In certain circumstances,
advertising parties or
1. Receiving a complaint 6. Publication
complainants can request a
review of a ruling.

2. The investigation 5. Decision Ensuring compliance

Most advertising parties act

quickly to amend or
withdraw their ad if we find
3. Responding to us 4. Evaluation
it breaks the codes. The ASA
acts against the few who do
not.
Example:
Ad
A TV ad and magazine ads, for Samsung televisions. a. The
voice-over on the TV ad stated "Welcome to a whole new
world, where Samsung LED technology brings you sharper
images, deeper blacks and brighter colours. The ultra slim
Samsung LED TV. The next generation of television has
arrived". On-screen text stated “Samsung LED TV Next
Generation TV”. b. The magazine ads were headlined "The
Next Generation of TV has arrived" and stated "Welcome to a
whole new world. Where Samsung's revolutionary LED
technology redefines all standards of television. Bringing you
sharper images, deeper blacks and brighter colours. A
stunning, ultra-slim profile. And design with the
environment in mind. Search on Google for LED TV". The
logo stated "LED TV Next Generation TV".
Issue
Two complainants challenged whether the ads misleadingly
implied that the product had an LED (Light Emitting Diode)
display, when in fact it merely used LEDs for backlighting.
Example one cont…
Response
Samsung argued that the discernible difference between LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and
LED (Light-Emitting Diode) TVs was that the LED TV used light emitting diodes as display
backlights or edge-lights, rather than cold cathode fluorescent lamps found on most LCD
televisions. They argued that this light source technology enabled them to improve the
colour, design and energy efficiency of the appliance.  Samsung said that the phrase "LED
TV" was intended to communicate the type of technology their TVs used in a general way to
the consumer and had used the phrase for their edge-lit TVs since December 2008. Although
this type of TV was initially referred to as "LED-based LCD TV" or "LED LCD TV" they
argued that the term had evolved and they were now called LED TVs by consumers and the
industry. Whilst they acknowledged that some informed consumers would be aware of the
technological systems used in their product, they believed that this would not be the case for
the majority of consumers.  In addition, they stated that the phrase "LED TV" was widely
used to describe the type of TV they sold and sent evidence to show it had been used by their
competitors and the media and was accepted in the industry.  Samsung also argued that the
ads made clear that the phrase "LED TV" meant that their TV used LED technology to
improve the colour of the image which clarified the technology of the product to consumers.
Cont…
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that the Samsung TV had an LCD display with a LED edge-lighting and
that it did not have a full LED display.  Furthermore, we understood that full LED screens were
currently only available in certain mediums, such as large outdoor screen displays; whilst full
LED TVs for household use were in development, they were not yet available in the UK market.
 We noted Samsungs assertion that the phrase "LED TV" had evolved and that TVs that used
this technology in either back-lighting or edge-lighting had adopted the phrase to generically
describe the technology. However, we noted that there were LCD TVs for sale that used LED
technology in their backlighting or edge-lighting, but that they were still described as "LED
LCD TVs" or similar, and that the phrase "LED TV" was not adopted consistently throughout the
industry.  We considered that the ad implied the TV displays were comprised totally of LEDs
similar to some outdoor displays when that was not the case.  We considered that because the
ads were ambiguous and did not make clear how the TVs utilised the LED technology, the ads
were likely to mislead.
The TV ad breached  CAP (Broadcast) Code rules 5.1.1 and 5.1.3 (Misleading advertising).
The magazine ads breached CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness).
Action…
The ads must not appear again in their current form.
 We told Samsung to ensure that future marketing
communications described the technology their
products used accurately.
Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)
Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)