The Advertising Standards Authority's business rescue plan was accepted at the AGM on 25 April 2017, but the ASA has a long way to go before it is ‘safe'. The new acting CEO, Gail Schimmel, is requesting that the industry support self regulation of advertising.
“As the new acting CEO, my number one task is to get short term funding to see the ASA through this time – enough breathing space to allow the industry to sit down and work out the long term funding model. To do that, we need to pay off historical debts and have operating costs for the next six months for the new, austere ASA. It’s urgent.”
Schimmel is calling on all agencies, marketers, advertisers and media owners to pre-pay one ASA filing fee of R24,396 (including VAT). In exchange for that filing fee, they will get:
- Full credit to file a complaint using this fee at any point in the future;
- A year’s access to the ASA Rulings Library, valued at R3,300;
- The right to carry the ASA logo, adapted to reflect that one is a supporter of self regulation, on one’s marketing material;
- A responsible marketer Mac certificate (providing one qualifies) worth R627, which in turn earns BEE points;
- Access to training and support in how to leverage the ASA process.
“We’ll also be naming and praising – publishing the names of those companies that have prepaid a fee on our website, on social media and in the media,” says Schimmel.
Collapse of system has consequences
If the ASA and advertising self-regulation collapse, there are a number of consequences that need to be understood.
- In the short term, issues about advertising content will be heard by the courts and the National Consumer Tribunal – the average cost to file a complaint will go from about R30,000 (with lawyer’s fees) to hundreds of thousands.
- Defending a complaint will no longer be free.
- More worrying, in the longer term, government will step in. We don’t know what it will do – but it may include strategies such as banning entire sectors of advertising to fining advertisers a percentage of their profits.
- Decisions will be made by people with no industry knowledge or experience and they will be so slow that the time for the campaign will have come and gone.
- Rules will be rigid and set in stone.
- The demise of the ASA will bring attention to other self-regulators – such as the CTFA – and other bodies.
Support has started
Marketers such as McDonalds, Makro and Vodacom have already paid, with many others in the process of making generous donations. Agencies are also being a support – with Gendel Marketing, J Walter Thomas, Hunt Lascaris and Brand all having confirmed payment – with many others in the pipeline.
“The South African marketing industry cannot afford to lose self-regulation,” emphasises Schimmel. “You may think that it is ‘not your problem’ but it will be a disaster for your business.”
