Ad Standards

Ad Standards manages the complaint resolution process of the advertising self-regulation system in Australia.[2]

Ad Standards
HeadquartersBraddon, Australian Capital Territory[1]
Region served
Australia
Websitehttp://www.adstandards.com.au/

It functions as secretariat for the Ad Standards Community Panel and the Ad Standards Industry Jury – the two independent bodies were established to determine consumer and competitive complaints against the advertising self-regulatory Codes.[2]

The advertising self-regulation system is funded by a levy on advertising in Australia.[3]

History

Ad Standards was established in 1998 by the Advertising industry to regulate complaints about advertising in Australia. It started as the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) but was rebranded to Ad Standards in 2018.[4]

Ad Standards originally only considered complaints under the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics. The remit of it has since expanded to administering a range of Codes and Initiatives.[5]

In 2006 Ad Standards joined the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) to ensure access to an appropriate best practice model for advertising complaint resolution.[6] It complies absolutely with the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) Best Practice Principles.[7]

Statistics and Issues

Ad Standards receives thousands of complaints every year. In 2015 it received more than 4000 complaints about 450 different advertisements, 70 of which were found to be in breach of advertising standards.[8]

The most common issues which people raise in complaints are around sex, sexuality and nudity and discrimination.[9]

The most complained about advertisement looked at by Ad Standards was Meat and Livestock Australia's 2016 Australia Day ad which received over 500 complaints.[10]

The majority of complaints against advertisements are dismissed, with less than 100 ads each year found to breach advertising standards.[11]

Scope

Ad Standards considers complaints about all advertising or marketing material across all mediums in Australia.[12]

It will accept a complaint if it falls under any of the Codes and Initiatives it administers.

It administers a range of Codes for the Australian Association of National Advertisers,[13] including:

  • The AANA Code of Ethics
  • The AANA Code for Advertising and Marketing Communications to Children
  • The AANA Food & Beverages Advertising and Marketing Communications Code
  • The AANA Environmental Claims in Advertising & Marketing Code
  • The AANA Wagering Advertising & Marketing Communications Code

Ad Standards also administers Codes for the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), including:

  • AFGC Responsible Children's Marketing Initiative
  • AFGC Quick Service Restaurant Initiative For Responsible Advertising And Marketing To Children[14]

It also administers the Voluntary Code of Practice for Motor Vehicle Advertising for the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.[15]

Ad Standards collects complaints for the Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code Scheme's Responsible Alcohol Marketing Code,[16] however adjudication under this Code is made by the ABAC Adjudication Panel.[17]

Complaint process

Members of the public can make complaints about any advertising in writing to Ad Standards, either through their website, by fax or post.[18]

Once a complaint is received Ad Standards will assess the complaint and if it falls under the scope of the Codes and Initiatives[5] the complaint will be forwarded to the Ad Standards Community Panel (Panel).[19] for assessment. Advertisers are also given a chance to provide a response to the Panel.[20]

The Panel is made up of 20 members of the community who have no connection to the advertising industry or interest groups. The Panel includes people from a broad range of age groups and backgrounds and is gender balanced.[19]

The Panel meets twice a month to consider complaints. The panel will consider the complaint/s, the advertisement and the advertiser's response and make a determination based on whether the advertisement breaches any of the provisions under the Codes and Initiatives.[21]

If a complaint against any advertisement is upheld the advertiser is asked to remove or amend the offending advertisement as soon as possible.[22]

Copies of all determinations made by the Panel are published on the Ad Standards website.[23]

See also

References
  1. "contact". Ad Standards Limited. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  2. "About us". Ad Standards. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  3. "Levy questions and answers". Ad Standards. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  4. Irk, Eeek, Oh! & Really? 40 years: self-regulation meeting community standards in advertising. Turner, ACT, Australia: Advertising Standards Bureau. 2015. p. 16 – via https://adstandards.com.au/publications/reports.
  5. "Codes and Initiatives". Ad Standards. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  6. "International links". Ad Standards. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  7. "Best Practice Recommendations | EASA". www.easa-alliance.org. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  8. "Viewers got extremely upset about these cheeky ads". NewsComAu. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  9. "Australia's first ever complaint about an ad: 40 years of advertising self-regulation". Smart Company. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  10. "Aus Day Ad The Most Complained About Ever, B&T Takes Walk Down Ad Grievance Lane - B&T". B&T. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  11. "Is there any point to the Advertising Standards Bureau? - Mumbrella". Mumbrella. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  12. "What is an advertising or marketing communication?". Ad Standards. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  13. "Codes - AANA". AANA. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  14. "Advertising to Children » Australian Food & Grocery Council". www.afgc.org.au. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  15. "Voluntary Code of Practice for Motor Vehicle Advertising". www.fcai.com.au. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  16. "The Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code Scheme | The Code". www.abac.org.au. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  17. "The Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code Scheme | About the ABAC Scheme". www.abac.org.au. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  18. "Making a complaint". Ad Standards. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  19. "Ad Standards Community Panel". Ad Standards. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  20. "Responding to complaints". Ad Standards. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  21. "Community Panel meetings". Ad Standards. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  22. "Notification of the outcome". Ad Standards. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  23. "Ad Standards Community Panel cases". Ad Standards. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
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