Ads police turns 40

Four decades ago, when the self-regulatory organisation was formed by the advertising industry in conjunction with the marketing representative, the aim was that the ASA was to oversee and protect brand assets, as well as the consumer.

Bizcommunity.com spoke with those who have been around long enough to understand the ins and out of the industry and are well-suited to comment: Nkwenkwe Nkomo, ASA chairperson and also Draftfcb group chairman; Marc Spriestersbach, Publicis MD and Advertising Communications Association board member; John Farquhar, veteran journalist, commentator and editor-in-chief of AdVantage; and Chris Moerdyk, media and marketing analyst and Bizcommunity.com's own columnist.

Proven its validity

The veterans all share the same opinion that the ASA has proven its validity over the years, that it has been tested, recognised and even confirmed by the courts - proof that it doesn't deserve the negative label. It may, however, be too zealous in fulfilling its mandate.

“I don't think the ASA is a toothless watchdog. Ask any of the defaulters who have had to suffer the pains of pre-publication approvals! The ASA commands the respect of the industry,” says Spriestersbach. “As a self-regulatory body for the communications industry, the ASA certainly has lived up to its mandate and is a model structure for many other similar bodies or organisations.”

“Forty years down the line, and an organisation of this nature is still relevant. Industry self-regulation takes a burden off Government and or any other regulatory bodies and fulfils a specific function to the industry it represents - beyond just adjudications and rulings. It is also an advisory and training body,” he adds.

“The advertising industry has become far more complex with the proliferation of new media and the ever evolving laws. It has become a lot more taxing to police all the communication that is going out everyday. The ASA's job is not to ‘police' but rather to act on complaints and to protect both the consumers and the industry.”

Continues Spriestersbach, “It's really reliant on the nature of the complaint and the intricacies of the matter. Often the complaints are multilayered and each sub complaint has to be deliberated on in the context of the main complaint. This can lead to delays as often they are separate complaints altogether.”

Human nature

Comments Nkomo, “Forty years is a milestone and confirmation of the fact that the ad industry has grown in South Africa. Human nature is strange; when things do not go people's way, they will start calling you names like a toothless watchdog. ASA is not toothless. It is a self-regulatory organisation that was formed by the industry to deal with complaints that are brought to it.

"People think that they can get away with murder. In 2005 the Supreme Court ruled in our favour in the case against Matrix when they had lodged a complaint against the ASA against a campaign that Matrix ran. This proves that we are not toothless; we are pulling things together and working towards protecting the consumers and ensuring that advertisers play by the rules.”

“In the old days the ASA was perceived as a big boys' club that wasn't giving [the] small boys any justice. That perception has changed; the ASA is now seen as a fair equitable place, where even small boys can be heard and taken seriously,” adds Nkomo.

Nkomo does acknowledge that “there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. We need to spread the awareness to consumers especially those in rural areas. They need to be taught about their rights as consumers of the products advertised on different mediums.”

Far too much biting

Moerdyk believes that the ASA has very sharp teeth and tends to do far too much biting: “The ASA has become an organisation that now seems to benefit the consumer far more than the marketing industry. I think the watchdog has been overzealous. Unlike other bodies such as the BCCSA [Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa], the ASA is making it far too easy for a minority of consumers to have advertisements banned on the basis of personal sensitivity. At one stage almost 70% of all complaints about the cellphone industry came from one nit-picking individual.

According to Moerdyk, the ASA needs to restore the balance between serving the consumer and serving the industry. At present, the ad industry is practically having to work with lawyers in their creative teams to make sure that no-one is offended by their work. Moerdyk believes the ASA needs to concentrate on illegal and misleading advertising - something it does very well - and “stay away from trying to play God as the guardian of the nation's morality”.

“They should reassess whether they are actually doing the consumer a service or simply making consumers intolerant. And frankly it is ludicrous that it can take only one complaint from one consumer to get an advertisement removed. It is equally ludicrous that a consumer can get an ad suspended for a while during an investigation into whether or not it contravenes ASA rules and while the advertisers have to pay legal costs either way, the consumer doesn't have to pay a cent if he or she loses... The ASA is very undemocratic as it works on the basis of guilty until proved innocent - that's wrong,” says Moerdyk.

“In spite of being extremely cynical about the ASA, I wish them a happy 40th anniversary and courage to those involved who would like to see the organisation returning to being an industry self-regulatory body rather than just a consumer watchdog.”

Responsible manner

Farquhar believes that, as much as advertising is an important element in an industrial economy, it has to be done in a responsible manner without being offensive to either children or religion. “I've always maintained that advertising is not rocket science. It's just common sense. You don't have to win awards to produce good advertising. It's about solving problems,” he says.

“There are people out there who think they are cute, who think they can mock the community, religion and kids. The ASA is needed to smart tune these types of people into playing by the rules. If you play by the rules and do things the right way there is no way that you will get into trouble. Adverts have a social responsibility. The aim of advertising is not only to knock the competition down and to make profit.”

They say life begins at 40… Happy birthday ASA.

• The ASA has planned a celebratory dinner for Thursday, 4 September 2008, at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg and have invited local, as well as international, speakers to speak at the party, including Jean Pierre Tyssier of the European Advertising Standard Alliance and advocate Michael Kuper of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa.