International trends and the outlook for advertising regulation

"There are own goals from the ad industry at the moment, including ready ammunition for detractors as ongoing ads flout self-regulation," says Gray.

These kinds of ads can be difficult to defend and can provide proof that self-regulation does not work.

Gray says, "With the growing skepticism about self-regulation, it has to maximize industry knowledge as well as respond to challenges like new media with the net and mobile phone."

A workable model with sustained funding is going to be crucial, with a fair and independent adjudication with sanctions where necessary. "There has to be to be more proactive prevention rather than cure with the emphasis being on the risk that is borne by the entire industry," adds Gray.

"Transparency and published decisions are critical and stakeholders have to be involved and consumers must be made more aware," he says. "The WHO food and alcohol agenda has gone global and the ISO is searching for codes, redress and complaint standards."

"Training a staff about ethics and having contracts with responsibility clauses is a start, but self-regulation is actually the responsibility of each an every brand manager," Gray concludes.