Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) meaning

This Checklist highlights the principal points to review when signing off advertising copy. It is designed to assist advertisers and their legal advisers in ensuring print ads adhere to statutory and self-regulatory requirements, including the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code), Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) help notes, and the unfair commercial practices provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024). For broader guidance on advertising controls, see Practice Note: Advertising law and regulation. A third column is available to capture remarks or observations as you progress through the Checklist... Checklist Further information Notes (if any) Introductory considerations Have you reviewed the CAP Code and CAP’s Formal Guidance, along with relevant guidance from trading standards bodies and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)? Non-broadcast advertising is governed by legislation as well as the CAP Code. For more detail, see Practice Note: Advertising law and regulation... Have you taken account of relevant consumer legislation? When...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Contracts Data protection Public procurement Sale and supply of goods Supply of services International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings— 8 May 2024. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) considered a complaint about a website promoting a gambling offer that did not set out key entry conditions. The complainant queried whether the advertisement misled consumers. The ASA agreed and upheld the complaint. See: LNB News 08/05/2024 29. Contracts Supreme Court clarifies law on damages and assessment of goods (Sharp Corp Ltd (Respondent) v Viterra BV (previously known as Glencore Agriculture BV) (Appellant)). In Sharp Corp Ltd v Viterra BV (previously known as Glencore Agriculture BV) [2024] UKSC 14, the Supreme Court unanimously allowed the appeal and also allowed the cross-appeal, sending the Awards back to the Appeal Board for reconsideration. Lord...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection Contracts Data protection Sale and supply of goods Supplier management LexTalk®Commercial: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers ASA rulings—6 November 2024 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints about CurrencyWave and Eurostar. Complainants said CurrencyWave’s ad wrongly implied Financial Conduct Authority regulation and used inaccurate price comparisons. For Eurostar, concerns were that Instagram and Facebook ads overstated the availability of £39 fares and omitted key information. The ASA upheld both. See: LNB News 06/11/2024 51. ASA publishes its Vaping Project Review on vaping ads targeted at under-18s The ASA has issued its Vaping Project Review, detailing outcomes from investigations, tech-assisted monitoring, enforcement, stakeholder engagement and advisory work on ads aimed at under-18s since June 2023. It found influencers, companies, agencies and vaping brands posting paid and organic content, plus brand...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Contracts Data protection International Supply chain LexTalk®Commercial: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—5 November 2025 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a single complaint about advertising by On The Beach Ltd, which stated that customers booking particular holidays would be given free access to airport lounges. The ASA upheld the complaint. See: LNB News 05/11/2025 27... Contracts Ms Amlin Marine NV (on behalf of Ms Amlin Syndicate AML/2001) v King Trader Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1387 The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) dismissed the appellants’ challenge and confirmed that a ‘pay first’ clause in a marine insurance policy was enforceable against the Charterer. The policy had been issued by MS Amlin Marine NV to Bintan Mining Corporation (the Charterer), which had chartered the vessel Solomon Trader...

Film and TV glossary A–B Film and TV glossary E–H Film and TV glossary I–L Film and TV glossary M–P Film and TV glossary R–S Film and TV glossary T–W CAP Code for non-broadcast media The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (the CAP Code) serves as the principal framework governing non-broadcast adverts, promotional sales activity and direct marketing messages. It is drafted by the Committee on Advertising Practice (CAP), a self-regulatory body whose membership comprises organisations representing advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and media industries. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) polices the CAP Code and may require the withdrawal or amendment of any advertisement that contravenes these standards. Refer to Practice Note: Advertising law and regulation. Channel 4 Channel 4 operates as a ‘publisher-broadcaster’: it produces no programmes internally, commissioning content from production companies across the UK. Cinematograph film Under the Copyright Act 1956 (CA 1956), films gained protection as...

Introduction to the medicines advertising enforcement landscape Directive 2001/83/EC, the Community code for medicinal products for human use (the Pharmaceutical Code), sets the standards for the advertising and promotion of medicinal products across the EU. It obliges Member States to ensure there are adequate and effective arrangements to supervise medicines advertising. These arrangements must include legal routes enabling persons or organisations considered to have a legitimate interest in stopping any advertisement that breaches the Pharmaceutical Code to: bring legal proceedings against the advertisement, or submit the advertisement to an administrative authority empowered either to determine complaints or to start appropriate legal proceedings In the UK, Part 14 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMR 2012), SI 2012/1916 implements the Pharmaceutical Code’s rules on the advertising of medicinal products. Notably, HMR 2012, Part 14, Chapter 3 sets out the enforcement provisions for the advertising requirements contained in HMR 2012, Chapter 2. These include both criminal and civil sanctions. Under HMR 2012 it is...

This Practice Note is for brands engaging influencers (or other talent) on social marketing and advertising campaigns in the UK. What constitutes an influencer? In the UK: Content amounts to an influencer ‘endorsement’ or advertisement where an influencer collaborates with a brand to create material for their own channel and: the influencer has received ‘payment’ from the brand for that content, and the brand exerts some level of ‘control’ over the content Both ‘payment’ and ‘control’ must be present for content to be an advertisement regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). If there is ‘payment’ but no ‘control’, consumer protection legislation applies, enforced by Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). ‘Payment’ is interpreted widely and covers money, gifts, experiences, events and any promise of future payment. It can also be indirect: where an influencer has a paid commercial relationship with a brand, any related content is ‘paid‑for’ even if...