ASA website Guided Tour for Consumers

What types of ads and promotions does the ASA look into?

Direct mail and fresh coffee

The types of ads we deal with include:

Magazine and newspaper advertisements
Radio and TV commercials (not programmes or programme sponsorship)
Television Shopping Channels
Posters on legitimate poster sites (not flyposters)
Leaflets and brochures
Cinema commercials
Direct mail (advertising sent through the post and addressed to you personally)
Door drops and circulars (advertising posted through the letter box without your name on)
Advertisements on the Internet, include banner ads and pop-up ads (not claims on companies’ own websites)
Commercial e-mail and SMS text message ads
Ads on CD ROMs, DVD and video, and faxes

There are some types of commercial message we don’t deal with; these include:

Claims on websites
In general, misleading claims on companies' websites should be reported to your local trading standards department (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk) but we can investigate website owners' sales promotions, such as special offers, prize draws and competitions. We can also investigate "third party" advertisements in space the website owner has allocated to other advertisers.
TV and radio programme sponsorship
Programme sponsorship (where the name of the programme sponsor is announced in a ‘credit’ at the beginning and end of a programme, and when breaks occur in the programme). Contact Ofcom (www.ofcom.org.uk) about these.
Shop window displays
Misleading claims in shop window displays should be reported to your local trading standards department (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk). Trading standards departments do not, however, look into complaints about taste and decency, so if you find a shop window display offensive you should take it up with the shop in the first instance. You may also want to raise it with your local representatives such as a councillor
In-store advertising
Misleading claims on posters, shelves or till points should be reported to your local trading standards department (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk). The ASA will look into complaints about any leaflets or brochures that can be taken away from a store.
Political advertising
All complaints of political bias in TV or radio advertising should be made to Ofcom (www.ofcom.org.uk). Nor can we investigate complaints about non-broadcast ads, where where the purpose of the ad is to persuade voters in a local or general election or referendum. Contact the Electoral Commission for more information (www.electoralcommission.org.uk).