ASA on the receiving end
The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASASA) has received international recognition for its ability to raise awareness of advertising self-regulation among the public and across the marketing communications industry.
The ASA has won the annual European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) award for commitment to world best practice in advertising self-regulation and implementation of systems that support advertising that is legal, decent, honest and truthful.
The EASA coordinates the activities of advertising self-regulatory bodies in Europe. It bestowed the award at an industry event in Paris at the weekend.
EASA director-general Dr Oliver Gray complimented ASA SA for its strategy in raising awareness across diverse cultures through a multifaceted awareness campaign and hailed the work of the South Africans as an example for emerging democracies in Europe.
The awareness-raising campaign resulted in an increase of awareness levels of the ASA to at least one third of the adult population within a period of two years.
ASA SA executive-director Deline Beukes, who accepted the award, said the results were extremely gratifying in view of the challenges of on-going communication in such a dynamic and diverse market.
