For two years the CAP, the industry body responsible for writing and enforcing Britain’s non-broadcast, self regulatory advertising code has been wrestling with how to help increase consumer confidence in on-line advertising and buying
Who: Coation
Who: Committee of Advertising Practice ("CAP")
When: October 2000
Where: UK
What happened:
For two years the CAP, the industry body responsible for writing and enforcing Britain’s non-broadcast, self regulatory advertising code (the British Code of Advertising and Sales Promotion-"BCASP"), has been wrestling with how to help increase consumer confidence in on-line advertising and buying. The CAP membership comprises trade bodies representing most media owners and advertisers in the UK At the end of this process the Admark scheme has appeared.
Admark is a way in which advertisers on-line can demonstrate their commitment to legal, decent, honest and truthful advertising. To join up, members must pay an annual fee. In return they can show the Admark logo in their banner advertising on-line. Clicking on the logo will take the surfer to the advertiser’s main site. Another click on the Admark logo here will transport the visitor to the Admark site itself. This explains the scheme, makes it clear that use of the logo does not signify that the ad has been pre-vetted by the ASA/CAP, and lists all those who are fully paid up Admark members so the consumer can check.
Why this matters:
On-line consumer confidence is the on-line B2C Holy Grail. Whether it is indeed the single biggest impediment to UK consumers embracing the on-line buying environment is another question. But will yet another on-line scheme with a logo get noticed, and will on-line advertisers, whose banner and other paid-for ads must comply with the BCASP anyway, see any real added value in signing up for annual dues? We wish the CAP the best of luck!
