The internet has overtaken television as the most complained-about advertising medium in the UK, with a surge of 35% in the number of consumers registering concerns over digital campaigns last year, according to new data. The Advertising Standards Authority reports that that the total number of complaints about all UK advertising rose by a fifth […]
The internet has overtaken television as the most complained-about advertising medium in the UK, with a surge of 35% in the number of consumers registering concerns over digital campaigns last year, according to new data.
The Advertising Standards Authority reports that that the total number of complaints about all UK advertising rose by a fifth last year to a record 37,073 complaints.
The number of complaints generated by online adverts increased by almost 3,500 to 13,477, with consumers using social media and petition websites to register their hostility to campaigns they considered misleading.
The total number of complaints about all UK advertising rose by a fifth last year to a record 37,073 complaints.
Paddy Power and The Sun top complaints
The record number of complaints was fuelled by Paddy Power’s Oscar Pistorious press ad offering “money back if he walks”. It was the most complained-about ad of last year, with 5,525 people voicing concern.
Meanwhile, the Sun’s “Win a Date with a Page 3 Model” competition was the third most complained-about ad with 1,711.
The biggest area of growth in complaints was the internet with a 35% surge in the number received about online ad campaigns, a rise of almost 3,500 to 13,477.
Television commercials attracted 11,926 complaints, a drop of 10% year on year.
In its Annual Report, the ASA said: “We’re responding to and ensuring we keep pace with the rapidly changing media landscape, such as our ongoing work with vloggers.”
“The importance of that is underlined by the fact that, for the first time, the internet overtook television as the most complained about medium with 13,477 complaints about 10,202 ads, an increase of 35 per cent from 2013.”
A new trend of concern to the ASA is the rise of copycat websites, which mislead people by appearing to be official government websites, and often charge a premium for their services.
Two cases involving companies which offer passport renewal services appeared in the top 10 most complained about adverts across television, print and online.
Guy Parker, the ASA chief executive, said this was because of the rise in the use of social media to galvanise consumers into complaining.
“Although we received our highest ever number of complaints last year that is not the full story,” said Parker. “Social media platforms helped mobilise mass complaints about a small handful of controversial ads.”
In addition, advertisers are showing that they are aware of the UK code with the number of campaigns that had to be ditched or changed to comply dropping 16% to 3,384.
Parker said that the ASA gave almost 200,000 pieces of advice and training to help advertisers “get their ads right in the first place”.
