Chris Smith on life at the helm of the ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) exists to make sure ads meet the high standards laid down in the advertising codes. So why, some wonder, was Chris Smith, Lord Smith of Finsbury, almost apologetic about referring the errant advertiser Ryanair to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), whose job it is to ensure consumer interests?

“The referral of Ryanair was a major step for us and not to be taken lightly,” he says. “I was reluctant to seek the statutory authority to step in because that effectively leaves the self-regulation system behind. But when you have not just a whole series of adverse adjudications but a company that seems to refuse to accept the validity of the system, then we had to approach the OFT. I took no pleasure in doing that.”

The ASA has asked the OFT to consider taking action against the budget airline following a “catalogue of breaches of the advertising codes and its unwillingness to comply with ASA rulings”. Smith warns that a company operating in a highly competitive environment “ought to be worried about its public profile in the long term” and adds: “There’s a growing concern that this is a company riding a bit roughshod over the rules.”

Ryanair aside, Smith is upbeat about the future of the advertising industry ten months into his role as ASA chairman. And he is more than happy to talk about his plans to ensure advertising is “legal, decent, honest and truthful” in the online world.

Smith clearly recognises the importance of convergence between traditional media and the digital world. As Labour culture secretary, he announced in 2000 that the work of media, radio and communications watchdogs would be combined under a single umbrella called Ofcom. Fast-forward eight years, and Lord Smith, who joined the ASA last July, is already deliberating over the regulator’s increased role in the new media environment.

In an exclusive interview with Marketing Week to mark the launch of the ASA’s 2007 annual report – the first under Smith’s watch – he explains: “Online advertising is the second most complained about medium, after television, but over 80% of the complaints are outside our remit. We hope that the ASA can play a role in producing some sort of industry solution. We stand ready to do so.”

The report says that online accounted for 2,867 complaints in 2007, up from 2,066 the previous year. The ASA’s remit online extends only to paid-for advertising space and excludes content of websites.

One of the most recent examples of an advertiser taking advantage of this loophole was drinks brand WKD, which posted sexually suggestive pictures on its corporate website (MW April 17). Charity Alcohol Concern complained to alcohol industry body Portman Group, prompting it to issue a set of guidelines on the responsible use of images online.

However, Smith adds: “Overwhelmingly the online complaints are about truth and accuracy and not taste, decency, violence or sex. And I believe that it is in the interests of the companies that consumers can trust what they see both offline and online, because we can see a growing level of public concern about misleading content online. The ASA is hopeful that it will have a role to play.”

The Advertising Association, under Baroness Peta Buscombe, has already set up a digital media working group to make sure that emerging media adopts a self-regulatory approach to advertising. The conclusions are expected in early autumn. Smith adds that the ASA will expect increased funding to help its enlarged remit. It is funded by a voluntary levy on advertising display costs.

Digital, however, is not the only “tricky issue” that Smith is planning to focus on. His to-do list also includes responding to growing concerns over the use of “misleading green claims” when selling products. He says that the ASA received a record number of complaints about environmental claims – almost quadruple the number in 2006 – and CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice) is now providing training for advertisers on how to best promote their green credentials.

Excessive use of violence in advertising, he says, will be another area of priority this year, “reflecting growing public concern about gun and knife crime”. Last November, the ASA held a seminar in Nottingham on the issue of violence.

Smith says that he will also continue to make a case for “sensitive areas of public concern” such as food and alcohol advertising. His appointment at the ASA coincided with the new Ofcom rules on junk-food advertising, ensuring that foods classified as high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) could not be advertised in or around TV programmes with particular appeal to children under 16. Stricter non-broadcast rules for all food advertising were also introduced in 2007.

Smith opposes a blanket ban on food and alcohol advertising but fears that “there is a danger that the something-must-be-done brigade will capture the moment if we don’t continually make a case for self-regulation”.

Smith thinks he and Tory peer Baroness Buscombe have managed to raise the profile of advertising in the corridors of power. He adds: “The Government seems to be listening. For instance, the danger of a 9pm watershed on alcohol advertising has probably receded, but not gone away completely. What we need to do is demonstrate that the industry will continue to behave responsibly.”

He points to the Annual Report which says that last year fewer young people thought that alcohol ads were aimed at them. The conclusion followed independent research by the ASA and Ofcom assessing the impact of the 2005 changes to the alcohol advertising rules on the appeal of alcohol campaigns to young people.

He adds that the ASA’s compliance report should silence its critics and “indeed send out strong signals to the Government about how the industry has been compliant of the advertising rules.”

Smith says he joined the ASA in one of its busiest years – during which it responded to complaints about more ads than ever before. In 2007, the ASA received 24,192 complaints about a record 14,080 advertisements.

But that, he says, is not what he should be judged on: “If we can demonstrate that the advertising industry is accountable and largely fair and reasonable, and also maintain consumer confidence in advertising, that is what will measure success for me.”