New ASA Code for Responsible Advertising

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today released its new Advertising Standards Code.

The Advertising Standards Code is a consolidation of six codes that previously included similar rules and guidelines. There is now one primary point of reference for advertising standards. The six previous codes are: Advertising Code of Ethics; Code for Comparative Advertising; Code for People in Advertising; Code for Advertising Food; Code for Environmental Claims; and Code for Advertising Vehicles.

ASA Chief Executive, Hilary Souter said: “Reviewing and updating the Codes is an important part of the ASA’s work and it is great to have the new Advertising Standards Code in place to support responsible advertising to consumers.”

The new Advertising Standards Code will be effective on 1 November 2018 for new ads, and from 1 February 2019 all ads need to comply. This takes the number of advertising codes from 11 to six, the Advertising Standards Code and the five sector Codes where advertisers are expected to take particular care; Alcohol, Children and Young People, Finance, Gambling and Therapeutic and Health advertising.

The Code has been developed by the ASA Codes Committee, which includes advertiser, agency, media and public representatives, and in consultation with industry and public sectors.

ASA Board Chair Hon. Heather Roy expressed thanks for the excellent job the Codes Committee has done in developing the Advertising Standards Code.

“This is a key piece of work in improving the standards at the heart of advertising self-regulation. We want to ensure every ad is a responsible ad and robust standards that are fit for purpose in 2018 and beyond are important” Heather Roy said.

• To view a PDF of this media release, click here.

• To view the new Advertising Standards Code, click here.

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