BCAP Consultation: The Regulation of Unfair Commercial Practices in TV and Radio Advertising

24 June 2008

The CPRs is a new piece of consumer protection legislation that prohibits unfair trading practices, including in advertising. The CPRs replace existing UK laws on misleading advertising, which were already reflected within the Advertising Standards Codes. With advice from the Office of Fair Trading, BCAP and CAP have been working to align the UK’s broadcast and non-broadcast advertising codes with the new legislation.

BCAP is now consulting on its proposals to bring the BCAP TV and Radio Advertising Standards Codes into line with the CPRs and invites stakeholders’ opinions on whether BCAP has correctly reflected the new legal requirements.  The consultation closes on 22 July at 5pm. Further information can be found on CAP’s website.

CAP is not consulting on the changes to its Code, preferring to publish its amendments immediately to help the advertising industry to comply with the new legal provisions. CAP’s revised clauses come into immediate effect.  In its forthcoming comprehensive review of the CAP Code, CAP will take into account any changes that BCAP makes as a result of its consultation. The latest version of the CAP Code is available here and changes that take account of the CPRs are made available here. The vast majority of rules presently in the BCAP TV and Radio Codes are already consistent with the Regulations but in the meantime, to the extent that any rules are inconsistent with the Regulations, the provisions of the Regulations will take precedence.  

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for administering the new CAP Code rules, however, because the Code was already largely in line with the new legislation, the ASA is not anticipating a significant change in its overall approach.