FAQs
About CAP and BCAP
When were CAP and BCAP established?
Who sits on CAP and BCAP?
What are the responsibilities of CAP and BCAP?
What is the Advertising Advisory Committee (AAC)?
What is the role of Government and other statutory regulators fit in?
The Advertising Codes
What do the Codes cover?
Are all products regulated according to the same rules?
How are the Codes developed?
Is there any guidance or help available on the Codes?
How the system is governed
How is the system funded?
Who administers the Codes?
Keeping up to date with the latest developments
Contact us
About CAP and BCAP
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) was established in 1961 by the Advertising Association to write and enforce a Code for non-broadcast advertisements (‘the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing’). It was set up in response to the recent introduction of statutory regulation for television advertising and because the industry realised that if advertisements were to be effective, then consumers needed to trust them.
The following year (1962) CAP established the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) under an independent Chairman to adjudicate on complaints about ads that seemed to breach the new Code.
TV and radio advertising has been subject to statutory regulation since the first commercials were aired in 1955 and 1973 respectively. However, this all changed in 2004 when Ofcom took the decision to contract out day-to-day responsibility for regulating broadcast advertising to the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the ASA.
BCAP was established in November 2004 and inherited the existing TV and Radio Advertising Codes from Ofcom.
This created, for the first time, a single regulator that consumers could contact about advertising across all media: the ASA ‘one-stop shop’.
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CAP comprises trade and professional organisations of the advertising and sales promotion industries. The members represent advertisers, media space owners and advertising agencies. A list of CAP members is available on our website.
Similarly, BCAP members include trade and professional organisations of the advertising industries plus representatives of broadcasters licensed by Ofcom. The members represent all aspects of the industry including advertisers, agencies, media owners and interactive marketers. Click here to view BCAP members.
Andrew Brown is the Chairman of CAP and BCAP. Visit the Our team section for Andrew's and other team members' biographies.
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CAP and BCAP:
- Write, review and amend the Advertising Codes
- Produce Help Notes and Guidance for the industry
- Run training events
- Provide free pre-publication advice on non-broadcast advertisements to advertisers, agencies and media. This service is confidential from competitors.
- Proactively monitor ads and co-ordinate the activities of its members to achieve the highest degree of compliance with the Codes.
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The Advertising Advisory Committee (AAC) was established in January 2005 to provide independent, third party-advice to BCAP.
Its role is to ensure that the concerns of viewers and listeners are taken into account whenever the BCAP Codes are revised or updated. BCAP must ask the AAC for input whenever it decides to change the Codes and must provide a formal response to the advice given.
For a list of of AAC members, see About us/BCAP section of this website.
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The Advertising Codes are underpinned by consumer protection legislation and reflect UK and EU law.
CAP and BCAP maintain an open dialogue with Government about its views on advertising and the principles of good regulation.
BCAP has a co-regulatory partnership with Ofcom for TV and radio advertising. BCAP is responsible for writing and maintaining the Broadcast Advertising Codes, but any major changes to the rules must be approved by Ofcom.
CAP and BCAP have a close relationship with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which provides advice on whether the Codes accurately reflect consumer protection legislation for misleading and unfair advertising.
CAP and BCAP work with statutory sector regulators in areas where there is, or might be, regulatory overlap. Such bodies include the Financial Services Authority, the Food Standards Agency, the Gambling Commission and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
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The Advertising Codes
The Advertising Codes apply to marketing communications across all media.
The non-broadcast Code covers ads that appear in a wide array of media including newspapers, magazines, cinema, billboards, mailings, leaflets, paid for space online, sales promotions (wherever they appear), texts and e-mails
The TV Code applies to TV channels licensed by Ofcom and covers traditional TV ‘spot’ ads, as well as teleshopping, interactive services and text services.
The Radio Code governs advertisements on radio stations licensed by Ofcom.
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The main principles of the Codes apply to all ads: advertisements should not mislead, harm or offend.
However, certain products or services are subject to further specific rules. For instance, products or services that have the potential to harm or which are age-restricted, such as alcohol or gambling, are subject to additional restrictions above and beyond the general rules. The Codes also provide further clarity in some complex areas such as finance, the environment, health and beauty.
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The Codes are owned, written, revised and enforced by CAP and BCAP. The Codes are developed in response to public policy, changes in legislation, emerging technologies and advertising trends, as well as in response to social or political concern. The Codes are regularly updated and are periodically reviewed to make sure they remain relevant.
In 2009, CAP and BCAP launched a full public consultation on the content of the Advertising Codes. CAP and BCAP are currently evaluating the responses. Further information can be found in Closed consultations section.
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Help and guidance is readily available. This website contains copies of the Advertising Codes, Help Notes and Guidance Notes.
The CAP Copy Advice team provides free, confidential and expert advice on non-broadcast ads prior to their launch. They also have a fully searchable website which contains a wealth of advice.
Anyone planning a TV ad for UK licensed terrestrial and satellite channels should submit it to Clearcast for approval. Radio advertisers should submit their ads to the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC).
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How the system is governed
The system is funded by a levy on advertising spend. This is collected at arms-length on behalf of CAP, BCAP and the ASA by two bodies: the Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Asbof) and the Broadcast Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Basbof).
The levy is set at 0.1% of advertising space costs and 0.2% of Mailsort contracts.
The levy is collected at arms-length to maintain the independence of the system. It ensures that the system is properly funded, whilst ensuring that CAP, BCAP and ASA regulatory decisions are not influenced by who may or may not be funding the system.
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The ASA is the independent watchdog responsible for administering the Codes. It responds to complaints from consumers and industry about advertisements that appear to have breached the Code. If a complaint is upheld, then the ad has to be withdrawn or amended.
The ASA Council is the body that adjudicates on investigations of complaints. The Council has 15 members, two-thirds of whom are independent of the advertising industry. Members are appointed by the independent ASA Chairman, Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury. Further information is available on the ASA website.
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To keep up to date with developments in advertising regulation you can register to receive e-mail news alerts from CAP and BCAP as well as the CAP Copy Advice team.
Update@cap is a quarterly e-mail newsletter that highlights key issues affecting advertisers. It examines the ramifications of ASA rulings, changes in policy and flags up future events and any significant challenges on the horizon.
Insight is a monthly newsletter that focuses on the work of the Copy Advice team. It looks at some of the themes on which the team has been advising, as well as highlighting updated advice and guidance.
To receive news from CAP and BCAP please register or login and sign up. (if you have already registered on the Copy Advice website, you can use the same login details.)
Through here you can also sign up to receive an e-mail alerting you to the publication of weekly ASA adjudications.
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To contact CAP and BCAP please go to the Contact us page and submit your query.
For advice on your campaign, please go to Copy Advice.
To contact the ASA please go to the ASA website.
If you wish to complain about an advertisement, please complete the ASA’s online complaint form.
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