Social Responsibility - ASA Schools and Colleges · PDF file28.09.2005 · ASA...

ASA Schools and Colleges resources No.3Social Responsibility

SocialResponsibilityASA Schools and Colleges resources No. 3


Welcome to the ASA Schools and Colleges Resources: Social Responsibility

Here you will learn how and why advertisements are controlled in the UK to make sure that they are socially responsible.

You will find examples of advertisements the Advertising Standards Authority has received complaints about and the decisions the ASA reached about them.

To make the best use of these resources use them in conjunction with the ASA website, specifically our Annual Report, the CAP Code, Issues, Research, Statistics and Guided Tours.

If you have any feedback on these resources e-mail us at [email protected]

In boxes like this one, you will find activities written by an educational writer to use in class or to stimulate research.


Introduction

The advertising codes requires all marketing communications to be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society. Most marketing communications are. It’s never in an advertiser’s interest to be socially irresponsible as they have a stake in the wellbeing of society as much as anyone else. However the list below gives an idea of ways in which ads can be socially irresponsible:

•The use of shocking images that could cause undue fear and distress

•The depiction of scenes that could encourage people to behave in an irresponsible or unsafe way

•The advertising of products, or their consumption, in ways that can be harmful to health

•Advertising to children that could make them feel inferior, encourage them to pester their parents, or result in their physical, mental or moral harm. (See the section on Children and Advertising).


What the rules say

A number of the rules in the advertising codes are designed to maintain standards of social responsibility, the main principles are:

•Ads should not cause serious or widespread offence. •Ads should not cause undue harm or distress •Ads should contain nothing that might provoke anti-social or violent behaviour•Ads should contain nothing that is likely to result in the physical, mental or moral harm of children.


Activity

Look in a newspaper or magazine and see if you can find any advertisements that show a situation or scene that could be dangerous if it were copied.

Decide if the message of the ad justified the image. Does the ad encourage readers to copy the action? Does it make the depicted scene look cool or desirable? Or does it warn against or put you off what’s being shown?


“Copycat kids”

A lot of research has been undertaken into the so-called ‘copy cat’ syndrome whereby young or immature people copy potentially dangerous behaviour without considering the consequences to themselves and / or others. The ASA’s own report on this is to be found on the ASA website at http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/news/news/2005/Are+copycat+ads+always+bad.htm. It has a number of recent illustrative examples.

It links to an even more comprehensive piece of work conducted by the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the former television watchdog. This could be useful to students undertaking research into the area of children and television’s effects. You can go straight to it on http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D15BCA5A-F34D-4E6D-8540-F4D7140A1C01/0/copycat_kids.pdf.

Read the report and summarise its key findings in no more than 5 points. How far do you support this piece of research? What arguments might you make against it?

http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/news/news/2005/Are+copycat+ads+always+bad.htm

http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D15BCA5A-F34D-4E6D-8540-F4D7140A1C01/0/copycat_kids.pdf


Moral PanicsCopycat syndrome is one of a long line of what Media Studies now identifies as Moral Panics. This refers to the way in which the media allegedly amplify the perceived threat to society’s values of a contemporary social phenomenon that appears to be out of control. Past examples include early film, rock and roll and so-called “Video Nasties”. The role of the media in focussing on these issues allegedly leads to an exaggeration in their importance and potential effect. Read the essay Moral Panics at the website below for more detail on this important area of Media Studies.

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/mtw9403.html

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/mtw9403.html


“Rule breaking”For a minority, breaking society’s rules represents a kind of freedom, maturity, self-affirmation and a moving away from the restrictions of childhood. It is easy to see why rule breaking has been associated with cars and speed in an attempt to suggest a more adventurous and macho experience. What other products have you seen using this idea of machismo, independence and excitement that might lead to socially irresponsible behaviour?

ActivityTrawl through some magazines, especially men’s magazine’s, and find examples of “rule breaking” advertisements. Choose three and analyse the way they make their appeal to the potential buyer. You might want to use this as the starting point for a piece of individual research.


Reebok and 50 CentReebok is a global sports retailing brand. Its competitors are Nike and Adidas. Like those companies, Reebok use the endorsement of young aspirational media personalities to promote their clothing. One campaign using the hip hop start 50 Cent caused controversy for appearing to endorse gun culture. During the period when wearing ‘hoodies’ (hooded tops) was briefly brought to notoriety in UK shopping malls and gun culture amongst the young continued to be seen as a problem, Reebok launched a campaign in which 50 Cent’s rap refers to a notorious drive-by shooting where he was shot 9 times but survived.


The mise-en-scene of the advertisement is dark and threatening, with connotations of violence and threat. The sequence is overlaid with a soundtrack of audio clips, music, police sirens and voices talking about being ‘gunned down’and ‘taken to Jamaica hospital’. This has been seen by some as a glamorisation of violence at a time when gun crime presents a serious problem in inner cities in the UK. It is a very sensitive and important social and political issue.


Reebok and 50 Cent

The article at the link below from the Guardian website entitled “Reebok told 50 Cent advert glorifies guns” will fill in the details of what happened to this advertisement.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,141731486124,00.html

Discussion and debate

What are your views about using serious social and political issues to sell products? What effect might such advertising have on (a) the targeted consumer, (b) the Brand image and (c) society?

Read the ASA ruling on this advertisement in the Adjudications section of the website. Do you agree with the withdrawal of the advertisement. The ruling can be found at:http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/ABDE91FE-4E42-4937-8DB1-749F3C4BFF38/0/Broadcast_report_18_May_05.pdf

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,141731486124,00.html

http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/ABDE91FE-4E42-4937-8DB1-749F3C4BFF38/0/Broadcast_report_18_May_05.pdf


Reebok and 50 Cent

ActivityStage a debate between representatives of the three groups mentioned above plus the ASA and write up your conclusions.


Motoring advertisements can give rise to complaints if they use speed claims as the vehicle’s main selling point. With pressure on the industry to act responsibly from various quarters, it is particularly important that car manufacturers produce responsible advertising. The Code stipulates that the predominant message of motoring ads should not be speed and the ASA is alert to concerns in this area.

This national press advertisement was judged to have breached the Code that states that speed should not be the predominant message of advertisements.


This advertisement for car stereo speakers states:

“Maybe you like your music to be relaxing. Or maybe you like to shatter greenhouses and set off car alarms.

“How you listen to your tunes is a personal thing. Unless you choose to listen through the Sony Xplod P5 series of amps/subs. Because let’s face it, with 1000W you’re not going to be the only one hearing it”.

The ASA told the advertisers to stop using the advertisement because it condoned, and was likely to encourage, anti-social behaviour.


Activity

What do you understand by the term social responsibility?

List some examples of how companies can act responsibly. Make another list of how companies can act irresponsibly.

The ASA thought the the ad in the previous slide was socially irresponsible because it condoned anti-social behaviour.

What do you understand by the term anti-social behaviour?

Do you think the complainant was justified in making the complaint?

In what ways can socially irresponsible advertising damage an advertisers’business?


The ASA upheld complaints that the headline of this mailing “THIS IS AN URGENT PRODUCT RECALL!”could cause undue fear and distress, as the mailing was not for a genuine product recall. The fact that the mailing was from a gas company added to the fear and distress.


Wanadoo forced to scrap ad

A TV commercial for the Internet Service Provider, Wanadoo, featured a group of teenagers in a scrap yard that was full of wrecked and smashed cars. To the soundtrack of rock music, the children ran through the scrap yard dancing, laughing, shouting and splashing about in muddy puddles. The final shot, seen through the smashed windscreen of one of the cars, showed a girl and boy French kissing on the back seat. The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre, which checks ads before they are broadcast, gave the ad an ex-kids restriction, meaning it should not be shown around programmes made for children. The ASA, however, decided that the ad’s potential to cause harm warranted its withdrawal. It considered that the commercial irresponsibly portrayed the teenagers running and messing about in and between rows of stacked cars without concern and gave no sense of the possible dangers of such behaviour.


Keeping the ad away from children

The ASA’s rationale for rejecting the timing restriction placed on the ad by the BACC is interesting. The ASA considered that, although the advertisement might have been targeted at 16 to 34 year olds, the timing restriction was inadequate for keeping the material away from children aged 9 and over. The commercial gave the impression that a car scrap yard was a fun place to play. Older children would be more likely to be out with a group of friends, without adult supervision and interested in exploring. Because of the likely appeal to children, the commercial posed a serious and realistic risk of harm.


Nissan online ad too X-treme for ASA

The Internet continues to grow as an advertising medium trusted and used by consumers and advertisers. The CAP Code, which applies to non-broadcast ads, sales promotions and direct marketing, helps to secure consumer confidence in the ads that appear in paid-for space on UK websites. The application of the Code by the ASA led to the withdrawal of two Internet ads for Nissan cars. Both ads were set in a kitchen. One showed a man putting a spoonful of instant coffee in his mouth before taking a kettle from a cooker and raising it to his mouth. The other showed a man taking an iron, lying on the floor and then lowering the iron towards his chest. Those ads led to complaints that the ads were irresponsible because they could encourage emulation among children. The advertisers said the ads were not intended to be taken seriously and were targeted at adults aged 35 to 55. The ASA, however, considered that the ads were featured on websites that were likely to be seen by children and decided that they were irresponsible, because they could encourage emulation by children.


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Charities

Charities often use graphic and shocking images to attract attention to their causes. In particular, charities will show hard-hitting images, often of real life situations to “wake people up” to things they might not see in their everyday lives. Once people are aware of these things, it is hoped that they take action to stop them happening again. The Code permits the use of shock tactics where the subject matter justifies the use of such an approach. As with any advertisement, the ASA takes account of the choice of medium and the audience in assessing whether an approach is likely to cause undue offence, especially where children may find the images distressing.


An organisation well known for such campaigns is the NSPCC. Although the ASA received a complaint that this mailing was distressing as it looked like a genuine cry for help, the ASA considered that in the context for a mailing asking for charitable donations the approach was acceptable.


Events

The public’s sensitivities to the advertising of specific products change over time. In 1987, a lone gunman went on the rampage through the English market town of Hungerford, shooting dead 15 people and wounding 14 others, before turning the gun on himself. After this tragic event, the advertising of guns and other weapons came under public and Government scrutiny. As a result of this concern, the ASA conducted research that found that, out of more than a quarter of a million ads scanned, 281 revealed some level of problem. As a result of the public’s and the Home Office’s concern the Code was amended to include new rules on violence and anti-social behaviour.


The ASA received complaints that this reader offer, for air guns, in The Daily Sport newspaper was irresponsible.

Upholding the complaints, the Authority considered that, in conjunction with claims such as "sprays ammo in a rapid burst" and "fires an amazing 300 rounds of ammo", the names and images of the guns glamorised the use of offensive weapons and trivialised a serious social problem.

The ASA was also concerned that the advertisers did not go far enough to prevent children applying for the offer.


Catastrophic events can swiftly change people’s sensitivities

– After the atrocities of September 11th many airlines pulled their advertisements from publication to avoid causing undue distress.

The strapline for this ad for the documentary TV channel Discovery states “Terrorism has changed the way we view the world”. The ASA did not uphold complaints it received about this ad, however, considering that it captured the essence of the serious content of the documentary on global terrorism being advertised.


An ex-member of the British Army who received this text message at the end of September 2001 objected that the wording “Please report to your local army recruitment centre immediately for your 2nd tour of duty” could cause undue fear and distress. The ASA agreed that, at first glance, the text message could distress recipients.


Shock tactics

Advertisers sometimes go out to shock people with the content of their ads; if done with consideration it can be effective at getting a message across. If done without thought, ads that use shock tactics can cause undue fear and distress.

Why advertisers use shock tactics –

•To attract attention•To challenge perceptions / opinions •To provoke thought and action


Shock Tactics

There are a number of charities in the UK who have focussed on the potential harm that smoking causes. In recent years some of them have commissioned very tough advertising campaigns to alert the public to the consequences of smoking. They have used shocking images to shake smokers into changing their minds. For example, the British Heart Foundation has recently produced a nationwide campaign that alerts smokers to the fatty deposits that are produced by cigarettes that eventually clog up the heart and may lead to disease and death. The BHF said it was “declaring war on smoking but not on smokers”.


Shock Tactics

What do you think of the advertisement? How is it constructed to be effective on smokers? Think about how the ad is addressing readers and the context in which the “cigarette” appears.


Debate

•Is it ethical to use shock tactics to attract attention to a product?

•Are shock tactics justified if the advertisement purports to be in the consumer’s interest and is trying to avert a social problem?

•Should charities use the same techniques as commercial advertisers?

•Does the use of digitally manipulated images affect the truthfulness of what is represented and is this justified?

Look carefully at the advertisements on the next two slides to use as examples in you answer.


This Accurist ad distressed sufferers of eating disorders, their families and friends.


A press ad to tell people what it’s like to have heart disease and encourage them to take preventative action caused complaints that children might emulate the image and put plastic bags over their heads.


This section of the Schools and Colleges tour raises the debate, often rehearsed in the media, about freedom and control. Where do you draw the line between personal choice and social responsibility? Should consumers be allowed to make up their own minds about what they buy, or should other, socially concerned, bodies protect us from potentially harmful products? Alcohol advertising is a useful case study to investigate this important debate.

Debate

Should advertisers have the freedom to promote their products if they are legally on sale, even if abuse of them may damage your health? Or, do you believe that in a modern welfare state there should be social controls on products that may cause harm to the consumer? Go back to the first session of this tour, Controlling Advertising, to rehearse some of the arguments on this issue and the role of the ASA.


Activities

1. Scan any lifestyle magazine and analyse the ways in which advertisements attach desirable images to their products. A good example might be men’s perfume / fragrance advertisements. How are they being advertised to men in recent publications? What do they suggest about masculinity in the 2000’s for example? Try to find some older advertisements for aftershave to compare them with.

2. What have you bought recently that has been inspired by the image in an advertisement? Be honest! Try to identify how the image makes the product appealing.


‘The Facts’ & the Image

Advertising works to make a product or service appealing by creating an attractive image that offers the consumer the suggestion of additional lifestyle benefits – success, confidence, attractiveness, glamour, friendship, freedom from stress, etc.

The officially published facts about smoking, however, are that it damages health and costs the NHS millions of pounds a year in caring for those affected. (Log on to www.dh.gov.uk/tobacco to find out more). So for a long time it was considered wrong to use attractive images to advertise cigarettes and in 2003 cigarette advertising was finally banned.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/tobacco


Brands

The study of brands involves looking at how meanings are associated with products in their marketing. Branding, whether of soap or national charities, may seem a simple enough process. An advertiser pays to reproduce their trademark, and associate meanings with it, such as the universality of Coke, the genuineness of Levi’s.

The earliest advertisements attracted attention by repeating the name or associating it with some striking visual image. Later a few brands dominated the market, and as they were seen as more and more alike, advertisements began to use associations with a life the consumer might desire.

Thus associated meanings have become increasingly complex and subtle, and have been translated into new media, but the basic process is particularly interesting because it links particular texts – the ads – to larger systems of meanings, such as what it means to be young (Pepsi), or healthy (BUPA), or a good parent (Persil), or a Briton (Brooke Bond Tea).


Guidance

The traditional sources of guidance are losing influence over young people – church, school, parents. Young people are offered guidance from the media

Self Respect

Young people growing up need to assert themselves, often doing dangerous or undesirable things, to achieve respect and recognition. Brands offer another safer way to find self respect.

Identity

Lots of choice. Brands offer security and identity. A quick way of displaying who you are.

Transparency

Young people are very aware. They cannot be fooled. Brands must work for them.

Entertainment

87% of young people interviewed in a survey said entertainment was the most important thing in their lives. Use of TV and Internet is widespread. Advertising offers a form of entertainment

Democracy

Brands offer a sense of belonging that is achievable. You don’t have to come from the right family, or have the right education

BRANDS


Activity

1.What does this suggest about brand appeal and young people’s sense of self? Do you agree?

2.What are your favourite brands? What do they represent for you?

3.How do alcohol brands target young people?

4.What does the alcohol industry say about young people and drinking – visit the Portman Group website to find out www.portman-group.org.uk. Visit the Department of Health website www.dh.gov.uk and find out about the government’s views on the issues surrounding young people and drinking.

Research Activity

Think about sports shoes or trainers, for example. How do they brand their images to appeal to young people? Do the same rules apply?


Alcohol and advertising

There are very strict rules about what alcohol advertising can and cannot show. This has forced advertisers to adopt different ways of representing their products in order to protect consumers from the possible harm overindulgence may cause. The sections of the advertising codes relating to alcohol are included in this section of the tour. Some pressure groups have argued for a ban on alcohol advertising like that imposed on cigarettes. What evidence is there to support their view? What are your views about it?


Alcohol consumption

Alcohol contributes to 22,000 deaths a year, lands 150,000 people in hospital through illness and accidents, and is implicated in 1.2 million violent incidents, according to an interim report from a government strategy unit.

Log on to http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1045975,00.htmlto read more on these statistics. See if you can find out who is drinking and what they are drinking. What is surprising about the answer?

Debate

Log on to http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,7492,990148,00.html to read the article ‘Doctors want ban on drink adverts’ from 23 July 2003

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1045975,00.html

http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,7492,990148,00.html


Alcohol

As was the case with cigarette advertising, the code of advertising for alcoholic drinks is based on rules agreed by the industry itself. In 1975 the Code for alcoholic drinks was strengthened and an immediate change was apparent. Suddenly, ads that implied sexual success from drinking alcohol, like the one opposite, or an unhealthy dependence on alcohol, were outlawed.


The rules for alcoholic drinks advertising have been made stricter in light of recent concern over binge drinking.

The new television advertising rules are tougher in four main areas:

•the implication that drinking alcohol is essential to the success of a social occasion

•the extent to which sex may be linked with alcohol

•the extent to which alcohol advertising may appeal to people under 18 years of age, particularly by preventing links to "youth culture"

•they require alcohol to be handled and served responsibly

New rules for the advertising of alcohol in non-broadcast advertisements include:

•a requirement to show alcohol being handled and served responsibly

•people shown drinking should not behave in an adolescent or juvenile way and alcohol ads should not reflect the culture of people under 18

•links must not be made between alcohol and seduction, sexual activity or sexual success


Ads like this one for an alcopop have been banned, not only because they show people acting in an irresponsible way after a night out, but also because the models do not look as if they were over 25 years old – a clear breach of the Code.


Activity

Design an advertisement for a non-alcoholic drink aimed at 18-25 year olds to be sold in bars and pubs.

Try to get across the following messages:

The drink is alcohol free

It doesn’t stop you having a good time

There’s no hangover the next day

You’re always in control

How does your advertisement appeal to the target audience? What in your ad is going to make potential customers switch from alcoholic drinks to your drink. Remember to give your product a name that reminds the audience of the benefits associated with the drink.


For more information on the work of the ASA download and view the other sessions in our Schools and Colleges resources.

You may also like to visit the following websites:

The Advertising Standards Authority – www.asa.org.ukThe Committee of Advertising Practice – www.cap.org.ukThe Advertising Association – www.adassoc.org.ukMedia Smart – www.mediasmart.org.ukThe Portman Group - www.portman-group.org.uk

http://www.asa.org.uk

http://www.cap.org.uk

http://www.adassoc.org.uk

http://www.mediasmart.org.uk

http://www.portman-group.org.uk

Social Responsibility - ASA Schools and Colleges · PDF file28.09.2005 · ASA...

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