The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) has launched a new strategic focus as part of its annual report. The ASAI intends to allow its board more independence and make more use of advice through forums and panels and reach out for wider industry involvement. The authority has increased resources internally for the year ahead.
The extra resources will be used to increase monitoring and regulating.
ASAI worked with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) in the development of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act (OMSRA) introduced at the end of last year. Along with the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), the authority provided the BAI with a solution to a citizens’ complaints mechanism for ads on video sharing platforms.
In 2022, the ASAI received 1,187 complaints about 897 ads.
The sectors that attracted the most complaints were health and beauty, 193; leisure, 170 and motoring, 116. Again, most complaints were made on the grounds that the ads were misleading (72 per cent) and digital media was the most mentioned media (52 per cent). Of the 74 ads submitted to the complaints committee, 59 were found to have breached the code.
The ASAI was established in 1981 to ensure that all commercial marketing communications were legal, decent, honest and truthful. Media must abide by the code by not publishing an ad or running a promotion which contravenes the rules. The ASAI code covers campaigns across digital, print, outdoor, radio, TV, leaflets/brochures and direct marketing.
Pictured: Miriam Hughes, who was appointed ASAI chairperson last September
