More conjecture from me, I’m afraid, but I suspect the ASA will push for similar sanctions that exist for advertising, i.e. that they will request that claims be withdrawn, and should this not happen from the company itself, they will contact the ISP or possibly even Nominet. I suspect the only way this would be feasible, however, would be if they worked closely with TSOs, something they only do in exceptional circumstances with advertising. The CAP and BCAP codes are currently under review, and I’m assuming given that the ASA has been moving towards this for some time, that they will have been mindful of the new remit. Also, there is currently an issue with people direct mailing from abroad, where the ASA can make a request for particular mailouts to be withdrawn, but have no real power to stop it happening. Non-UK advertisers are a little less interested in complying. I’m not sure how the ASA will deal with non-UK registered websites making sales messages to UK citizens. Reply
This could prove to be very interesting and it certainly sounds like good news, but it’s obvious we’re going to have to wait until the details are finalised and something is published in the codes or on the ASA website before knowing just how these changes will apply. It will be interesting to see what is meant by the term ‘Brands’. Although I’m just guessing, I think the changes will be more useful against actual ‘products’ (supplements & homeopathic remedies etc) rather than ‘services’ like reflexology & chiropractic ….. but will be very happy to be wrong on that! The implementation of any changes is some way off, but this is well worth keeping an eye on how it develops. Nice work Zeno for getting onto the ASA so quickly. Reply
Skeptic Barista said: “Nice work Zeno for getting onto the ASA so quickly.” I’m waiting for my invite to their Christmas party… I think it is unlikely that this would only apply to products and not services, but, as you say, we’ll have to wait to see the detail of what’s finally decided. Reply