Too close for comfort – A look into the Advertising Standards Authority and the case for more controls on advertising.

This hard-hitting report by Adfree Cities analyses data on complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), revealing that only 22% of complained-about adverts are investigated and only 2% upheld. The ASA’s rules are set by ad industry insiders.
We make the case for an independent regulator that is transparent, involves the public in decision making, and can enforce stronger rules – e.g. on the environmental impact of adverts.
Watch the 60-second video
Sign up for the Webinar
Sign up for the webinar: ‘Junk food, fossil fuels and consumerism – how can we stop manipulative advertising?’
Wednesday 14th April (date to be confirmed) 6:00 PM – click here.
Read more
Read the article: ‘New report exposes failures of advertising regulator‘
See our working
Statistics in the report are calculated based on information in the ASA’s annual reports 2009 to 2019, available here.
For more details about our working see the spreadsheet here.