The Gazette 1983

GAZETTE

APRIL 1983

Self-regulation for Advertising

EMB ERS of the advertising profession and the

public — through consumer-related organisations —

attended a symposium on advertising at Blackhall Place in

February and were welcomed by the President, Michael

P. Houlihan, who expressed appreciation of the self-

regulatory body set up by advertisers, advertising agencies

and the media with consumer representation.

He referred to the Society's Wills Week campaign and

said that while it was difficult to estimate the feed-back

from such an exercise, "the Society was satisfied that the

money expended, which was in excess,of £ 2 5 , 0 0 0, which

is a lot of money for a profession of 3 , 200 odd solicitors

was well spent, and it is probably an exercise that we will

indulge in in the future in different facets because what we

as a profession have to be seen to do for the future, is to get

into the more positive field of promotion of matters

relating to the law and professional interests."

Conscientious advertisers

The symposium was organised under the title "Nothing

but the Truth" and Brian Walsh, President of the

Association of Advertisers in Ireland and Marketing

Manager of W. & C. McDonnell Ltd., claimed that it is the

advertisers themselves who have the greatest interest in

making sure that advertising is above reproach. "The vast

majority of Irish advertisers are highly conscientious and

extremely careful to ensure that their advertising is truthful

and does not mislead consumers. It is not in any

advertisers interest to mislead consumers — a consumer

who buys a product which does not live up to what is

claimed for it in its advertising is unlikely to repurchase.

An advertiser who promises more for his product than his

product can deliver is not just misleading the consumer, he

is also cheating himself and he will fail. The consumer will

find him out very quickly and will take the most effective

action that can be taken against such an advertiser, that or

not buying his product."

He considered it essential that a strong body shou d

exist to maintain a code of standards which will be ngicUy

adhered to, and which has power to enforce the standards.

Voluntary control, as opposed to legal control, was

important because advertising would cease to be effective

if there is general cynicism as to its honesty; legislation is

apt to be rigid and frequently open to widely different

interpretations. Action could be taken in the courts against

advertising under the Consumer Information Act, but he

felt this would be wasteful and unnecessary. The judgment

of whether advertising is misleading or untruthful or is

merely using accepted hyperbole, is more often than not a

matter for commonsense rather than legislation.

A plus factor

A former President of the Institute-of Practitioners in

Advertising in Ireland, James Nolan, Deputy Managing

Director of Arks Ltd, was clear in avowing that ad-

vertisements should, and do, contain the truth but they

should and do contain much more besides.

There is a lot of loose talk about a lack of truth in

advertising. Much of this is generalised folklore which has

little basis in fact and those indulging in it never seem to get

down to specifics. It would be very foolish to suggest that

all advertising was above reproach in the matter of

truthfulness but there are some powerful safeguards and

protections of which people should be aware, and the first

one is that no reputable advertiser would risk his good

name by untruthful or misleading advertising."

Information is an important element of most advertising

and from time to time there are calls for more information

in advertising — calls which come close to the theme of the

symposium — "The whole truth". Advertising must

respond to consumer requirements in terms of information

needed to make a purchasing decision, and the amount of

information needed depended on the type of purchase

involved.

Mr Nolan submitted that if advertisements were to

contain 'Nothing but the Truth' they would be dull, boring

and ineffective and, therefore, they should and do contain

much much more and are all the better for that.

Advertisements inform, amuse, entertain, advise and

persuade. They are commercial advocates and, like their

counterparts in the courtroom, never confine themselves

to 'Nothing but the Truth' — but use a little drama and a

little humour or a little human interest to influence the jury

in favour of their client.

Strict Code in force

The Director of Consumer Affairs, James F. Murray,

outlined the role of his office in relation to advertising and

in the establishment of the Advertising Standards for

Ireland. The Chief Executive of that body, Kevin

O'Doherty, explained that it is a voluntary self-regulatory

body to promote and enforce the highest standards of

advertising in all media. The code of Advertising

Standards has been widely distributed and it is a condition

of membership of the Authority that no advertisement can

be published that does not comply with the Code.

Consumer interests are represented on the Authority by

the five members appointed by the Director of Consumer

Affairs who also appoints the independent Chairman.

Complaints are investigated if the Code is though to have

been breached. The Authority monitors advertisements to

identify any which might contravene the Code and

appropriate action is then taken if required. A pre-

publication vetting service of advertisements is also

provided.

The code is interpreted by the Authority and a decision

on whether or not an advertisement contravenes the Code

can be taken only by the Committee of Management. The

Code is not a legal document, but A S A I members are

subject to sanctions. A member can be fined or suspended

or both or expelled for a breach of the Code. The progress

made since the Code was published last year is regarded as