Who are the advertising standards authorities (ASA)? The Advertising Standards Authority is the UK’s independent official of advertising across all media. They apply the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice. There work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. 1961 onwards - Protecting consumers, testing claims This means that people are welcomed and trusted by consumers in non-broadcast media. 1974 onwards - Introduction of the levy In response, the industry set up the Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Asbof) in 1974 to provide sufficient and secure funding for the system through a levy of 0.1% on advertising space costs. 1988 onwards - Legal backstop The introduction of the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations provided the ASA with legal backing from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). 2004 onwards - Becoming the one-stop shop In 2004, after more than forty years of successful self-regulation of non-broadcast ads, the ASA/CAP system assumed responsibility for TV and radio ads. 2010 onwards - New digital advertising formats Over the years, the advertising self-regulatory system has responded to changes in society and media. The system is continuing to develop based on the enduring principles that ads should not mislead, harm or offend. Each year, the UK public sees many millions of advertisements, direct marketing and promotions. Although the vast majority comply with the rules set out in the Advertising Codes, if you see something you think isn’t right you can complain to us. Anyone can complaint if they have a problem the ASA will sort it out. There’s a page for parents if you’re interested in finding out more about how we regulate advertising that children might see. Just go to http://www.asa.org.uk/Consumers/How-to-complain.aspx and you can check whether you are capable to make a complaint. You can also complaint about ads too. The link is here where there is an ad that has been complained - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18243577 and it explains why it has been off the media style. The all-time top 1 advert that has been complained • 1. KFC (2005): Call centre workers singing while eating 1,671 complaints - not upheld because they were talking and eating at the same time and British people didn’t like it