New media, new challenges

15 October 2004

Nearly half of the complaints received in 2003 came via the ASA's online complaints form - a quick and easy way for complainants to get in touch. But complaints about advertising appearing in 'new media' formats rose substantially too.

Objections to commercial text messages rose by 500%, from 65 complaints in 2002 to 393 in 2003. Typically, these complaints were about messages notifying recipients that they had won money in a prize draw. Recipients would be urged to phone a premium rate telephone number in order to claim their prize; however, none of the people who contacted the ASA had ever received their 'winnings'.

The number of complaints about e-mail advertising rose even more dramatically. From just 17 complaints about e-mails in 2002, the ASA resolved over 450 in 2003, an increase of more than 2500%. The introduction of a new restriction in the latest edition of the CAP Code - published in March 2003 - requiring advertisers to obtain 'explicit consent' from consumers before targeting them via e-mail is one reason for the increase in complaints in this area.

During the year the ASA ruled for the first time on voicemail advertising, censuring Twentieth Century Fox for a clip used to promote the release on DVD of the film Minority Report. The message, sent to consumers' mobile phones, generated confusion and distress amongst several recipients because it was not immediately clear the message was an ad.

With the growth in consumers taking up new technologies, and the potential for using such platforms in advertising to target consumers, complaints about new media will continue to rise. But the ASA is working to keep pace with both the advertising industry and technology to ensure that wherever ads appear, they are in line with the CAP Code requirements to be legal, decent, honest and truthful.

More details about complaints received by the ASA in 2003 can be found in the Annual Report, accessible from the home page at www.asa.org.uk.