Ad watchdog tackles online

September 2, 2010

Powers extend to electronic marketing and advertising, but their may be added trademark implications

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has announced it is extending its powers to cover all online marketing and advertising from 1 March 2011.

Under the new regulations, the UK’s independent watchdog, which is responsible for maintaining high standards in advertising for the benefit of consumers, advertisers and society at large, will have the power to remove advertisements and statements from Facebook, Twitter and pay per click (PPC) ads on all search engines.

Trademarks pull rank online

Paul Byrne, senior PPC account manager at independent search and social marketing agency Greenlight, said the new ASA regulations would be a boon to victims of Google’s change in trademark stance.

Depending on how it is implemented, Byrne pointed out that the ASA’s involvement may be welcomed by advertisers, given Google’s recent trademark change means many more advertisers can use brand and trademarked terms in ad copy.

“The ASA has been an active player in dealing with misleading and controversial advertisements in the UK for many years. It will likely operate as it does offline and wait for a complaint to be raised before conducting an investigation and taking action,” he said.

He went on to ask, how then would it go about removing a misleading PPC ad?

“If you dig a little deeper, the extra funding for this new extended remit has come from Google,” he continued. “It has reportedly contributed £200,000 to the new scheme. With such support from the world’s biggest search engine, the ASA would appear to have a readymade solution to have ads taken down when advertisers are not behaving.

“The new regulations also give the ASA the ability to position ads in the place of those of a malicious advertiser. As such, Byrne said that come March 2011, advertisers will need to be careful how they describe their competitors and/or offers. They will also need to be wary when bidding on competitor keywords or trying risqué copy to catch a potential customer’s eye.

Don’t ignore social media impact

“Due to being relatively recent, social media is probably not as regulated as other advertising fields. However, advertisers will need to up their game and be more wary about what is communicated in their official tweets, Facebook ads or Facebook pages,” he continued.

“With the new regulations, businesses will likely be held responsible for comments made on their Twitter and Facebook pages that viewers deem to be offensive. They will need to implement stringent and rigorous measures to ensure they are fully aware of exchanges so they can act appropriately. There have been several examples where employees have been known to send malicious or foul language tweets under their companies’ official listing. Under the new regulations, these firms would most likely face complaints and possibly fines from the ASA.

“For site owners who host ads from the Google Display Network or other ad networks, the regulations could mean their site can be liable for hosting ads that are considered misleading or malicious.”

Byrne added: “Although the change in regulations does throw up a number of questions, it could possibly help popular brands who are victims of companies selling illegal copies of their products through PPC or other online channels. If the ASA focuses more on products-based advertisers rather than content, they potentially could remove advertisers who drive up the cost of branding online, damage the perception of a clients brand through cheap copies and irrelevant content, and make PPC in particular a less competitive space on certain keywords.

Heightened diligence online

“Time will tell but the ASA’s step into the online world will require advertisers to be more watchful of how and what they communicate online, where they advertise and also the chance to work with a regulated advertising body to hopefully better protect their brands online. In addition with online advertising spend forecast to grow, this can only raise the profile of the industry possibly encouraging other similar regulatory bodies globally to follow suit.”

The news of the ASA’s extension of powers to the online realm was also broadly welcomed by the Cloud Industry Forum.

The Forum also highlighted that, last year, the body received over 4,500 complaints but over half of the adverts were outside of its remit as only paid-for marketing communications such as pop-up and banner ads, paid search and viral ads were covered.

Andy Burton, chairman of the Cloud Industry Forum and chief executive of Fasthosts, stated: “Under the new rules, which will come into effect on 1 March next year, the ASA will have the ability to demand the removal of paid-for links to pages hosting a banned ad. It will also be able to place its own online ads highlighting an advertiser's continued refusal to comply with one of its rulings.”

“This is a vital step forward for the industry and it will mean that the consumer has greater protection due to increased transparency of online vendor website claims and advertising. No longer will the consumer be misled due to false claims and statements on websites or indeed untrue price comparison websites, helping them separate credible suppliers from opportunists.

Gaining online shopping trust

"The ASA activity is aligned to our own belief that it is essential to build trust online by having transparency of online operations, as well as clarity of a vendors capability and accountability. This increases effective consumer protection and ensures fair competition, which are both goals we share at the Cloud Industry Forum,” he added.

As Greenlight’s Byrne pointed out, the extra cost of its expanded remit will be met by an initial £200,000 contribution from Google, plus an extension of the 0.1% voluntary levy on paid-for advertisements that currently funds the ASA.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), the body responsible for writing the regulations, said it had decided to extend the ASA's powers in response to a formal recommendation from a wide cross-section of UK industry.

New rules will focus on ads that sell products rather than journalistic and editorial content, in order to "protect the right to freedom of speech online", said the ASA. They will apply to "all sectors and all businesses and organisations regardless of size".