Communications and policy unit - helping to protect advertising freedom
22 November 2007
If laws are made harming advertising self-regulation, do you blame the Government for not considering your viewpoint or yourself for not having told the Government why legislation would harm regulation? Here at CAP, BCAP and the Advertising Standards Authority, the Communications and Policy Unit seeks to prevent the Government from passing legislation that could damage advertising freedoms.
The activities and duties performed by the Communications and Policy Unit are perhaps less well known than other aspects of the ASA’s work but what we do behind the scenes is crucial to defending the interests of self-regulation. The work we do combines parliamentary study, political lobbying and public relations; we monitor the news and Houses of Parliament for political developments that could affect us and then act on that information. That can include lobbying MPs on specific (usually contentious) matters, such as the watershed, replying to consultation calls for evidence from political or statutory bodies and writing to interested parties about the benefits of advertising self-regulation.
The regulation of advertising crosses many ministerial boundaries and we have to be alert for any hot topics that appear, especially Parliamentary concerns on health, wealth and children. As one of the main points of defence for advertising self-regulation, we get highly involved in the drafting process for legislation to protect our regulatory way of life. Building up key contacts in Government departments is crucial to minimise the likelihood of laws being made that would harm advertising self-regulation, especially because reversing laws is nigh on impossible.
Recently, we have worked with the Government on the transposition of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which has rewritten a lot of the UK’s consumer protection law. We have protected the advertising self-regulatory system’s interests as the established means for dealing with misleading advertising and the next big step will be transposing the Audio-visual Media Services Directive, which will impact on how much advertising can be shown, and when, and the future of advertising in the digital age.
When it comes to European law, CAP, BCAP and the ASA have less interaction with MEPs because a lot of our concerns are directed through the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) and through the Advertising Association, the European Advertising Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) and various CAP and BCAP member organisations. Nevertheless, because UK advertising self-regulation is considered the gold standard, we have had some contact with the European Parliament’s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs (DG SANCO) and Commissioner Meglena Kuneva has agreed to meet us when her diary allows.
The Communications team (the Press Office) and Public Affairs team have recently united as a team of four to present a common front to the outside world. In essence, we have been able to strengthen the lines of communication between press, public, industry and politics. By pooling our resources and internal expertise, which includes a thorough knowledge and understanding of the CAP and BCAP Codes, we are better equipped than ever to champion the effectiveness and benefits of advertising self-regulation. Our work was recently crowned with the Guardian’s “In Praise of the ASA”, which certainly put a smile on our faces. We hadn’t even planted it.