1. The United Kingdom
The UK has already banned advertisements for being
overly altered and misleading.[xiii] The UK regulates advertisements through the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), an independent regulator of advertising across all media.[xiv] Their mission is to “ensure that advertising in all media is legal, decent, honest and truthful, to the benefit of consumers, business and society.”[xv]
The ASA is also associated with the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), which is responsible for writing and maintaining the UK Advertising Codes, which are then administered by the ASA.[xvi] The CAP has developed a code that must be followed by all advertisers, agencies and media.[xvii] Section 3 of the CAP code deals with “Misleading Advertising,” with Sections 3.1 and 3.11 being the most relevant.[xviii] Section 3.1 states that, “Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.”[xix] Further, Section 3.11 states, “Marketing communications must not mislead consumers by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product.”[xx]
In 2012 in an application of Sections 3.1 and 3.11 of the code, the ASA banned an advertisement for L’Oréal.[xxi] The advertisement was for L’Oréal’s “Revitalift Repair 10” and starred actress Rachel Weisz.[xxii] In its ruling, the ASA stated that the advertisement, “Misleadingly exaggerated the antiwrinkle cream’s performance in relation to its claims for smoother and more even-looking skin.”[xxiii]
The ASA conceded that consumers surely do not expect photos in advertisements, especially those for beauty products, to be completely un-retouched, but they ruled that L’Oréal’s retouching went too far and that the advertisement in its form at the time must not appear again.[xxiv]
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Originally Posted by Torchbearer
I'll have to upgrade one day. I still use CS3.
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