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The trouble with ad regulation
We’re told to trust the advertising regulator to keep advertising legal, decent, honest and truthful. Often, however, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) fails to act on misleading claims, leaving us to sit in confusion among the greenwashing, health-washing, welfare-washing and other misinformation spewing from the adverts all around us.
What’s perhaps more worrying is that even in cases where the regulator does act, companies can apparently ignore the rulings without penalty.
A new investigation by Greenpeace Unearthed has found that companies are continuing to promote misleading environmental claims despite having received ASA rulings against them. Offenders include Virgin Atlantic who continue to publicly congratulate themselves on the first transatlantic flight using “100% sustainable aviation fuel”, Renault’s misleading claims about its hybrid cars, and Aqua Pura’s “eco-friendly” plastic bottle lids, even after the ASA has told them to stop making these claims.
If the ASA cannot effectively tackle misleading advertising, when this advertising is driving demand for the most harmful, polluting industries, and continues largely unfettered by regulation, then where does that leave us?
We need to put the brakes on harmful advertising, full stop. That’s why we’re calling for a tobacco-style ban on advertising for fossil fuels and fossil fuel products.
We were super excited to see that Chris Packham’s petition to end fossil fuel advertising reached over 110,000 signatures before closing, an impressively high number which will trigger a parliamentary debate.
We don’t yet know when that debate will take place, but watch this space for more from us soon.
Find out more:
- Explore Adfree Cities’ work to highlight misleading advertising to the ASA
- Read: Toothless? Our 2023 report on the shortcomings of the ASA
- Read about the Unearthed investigation, Revealed: Companies repeat misleading green claims despite UK ad bans
Say hello this summer
Have you met our anti-advertising billboard yet? Created from reclaimed e-waste and showcasing the best (or rather worst) in greenwash, advertising surveillance and how to fight it, Digital Dystopia is coming to an event near you this summer. Here are our tour dates so far and how to join an event:
Reading
- Digital Dystopia will be installed at Jelly in Broad St Mall: the screen will be displayed in the window until Tues 17 June (excl 5-8 June).
- Nicola from Adfree Cities will be speaking at Jelly’s Cultural Sustainability Forum on Thurs 29 May from 12.30-1.30.
- Robbie and Chloe from Adfree Cities are running an event at Jelly on Tues 10 June from 12.30-14.00: When Fossil Capitalism met Surveillance Advertising as part of Reading Climate Festival
London
- Digital Dystopia will be installed at The Living Centre in Somers Town, London from 21 – 29 June as part of Climate Action Week
Leeds
- Digital Dystopia will be at Imagine Leeds from 30 June – 18 July – details of events tbc
Green Gathering
- We’ll be taking the installation and running workshops at this year’s Green Gathering festival which is happening from 31 July-3 August
More Digital Dystopia events to be announced! Watch this space for updates.
Other upcoming events
- Bristol, Tuesday 3 June: come find Adfree Cities and Adblock Bristol at the Living Streets UK Walking Summit at City Hall where we will leading a lunchtime Walkshop: Our streets not ad streets: reimagining public space without corporate advertising
- Leeds, Saturday 7 June: Join Adfree Cities and AdBlock Leeds for Our Space Not Ad Space: Creating Happier, Healthier Cities in Yorkshire. This will be a day of creativity, conversation and connection as we explore how to build cities that put people, communities and nature first. Let’s chat, dream and plan for cities that actually feel good to live in. Attendance is free! Please register your place.
“A Pepsi won’t buy you world peace”
Over on the podcast we’ve been learning all about de-growth, post-growth and the role of advertising through a very interesting conversation with ecological economist Simon Mair. Simon explains how advertising plays an essential role in a capitalist economy, by promoting the core values of capitalism and persuading us that we can achieve happiness through buying more stuff. He looks at the way adverts use stories that feel real, and combine these with the myth that we can create meaningful experiences and relationships through buying a fizzy drink or coffee machine. We also consider the potential role of advertising in a post-growth world.
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