The ASA has a new strategy for regulating ads, meaning it
won't always wait for complaints before acting against an
offending brand. While the ASA has always had the power to take
action itself without having to receive complaints, it's clear
that the regulator is now planning on taking a more proactive
approach to enforcement.
Following crack-downs on advertising fast foods, pay-day loans
and advertising directed towards children, these areas will be
prioritised at the expense of lower-order violations of the
advertising codes.
Chief executive Guy Parker stated that for many complaints, the
ASA "will not be providing the level of service we are at the
moment".
Parker continued: "Complaints don't perfectly correlate
with the problems that are out there and we know our complainants
are not perfectly representative of the Great British public".
"There are probably issues we are not addressing to the extent
we should because they are not coming through in our
