Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
Where: United Kingdom
When: Report generated from research gathered in July 2024
Law stated as at: 30 May 2025
What happened:
The ASA has published a comprehensive report titled “Understanding Advertising: The UK’s Ad Concerns“, on aspects of advertising that are of concern to the public. The report is based on research conducted by YouGov in July 2024 which aimed to find out what concerned the UK population. The report covers three main areas: context and concerns, portrayal and imagery, and misleadingness.
Firstly, the report discusses the context and concerns surrounding advertising. The ASA aimed to understand people’s priority concerns in general, finding that issues around access to healthcare, the cost of living and climate change were among the top three. The state of the media was less of a concern for those surveyed. With more focus on thematic issues, 84% of respondents were concerned about misleading ads, 74% about harmful ads and 60% about offensive ads. Within this, the most concern came from scam or fraudulent adverts, as well as those where children are exposed to adverts targeted at an adult audience. The ASA has already started working on tackling scam ads and age-restricted ads so it is likely that this focus will continue over the coming years to tackle the public’s greatest concerns.
The report examines the portrayal and imagery used in ads. It revealed that respondents were particularly sensitive to how people are depicted in advertisements (particularly women), with a focus on issues such as sexual objectification, unrealistic body images and the reinforcement of harmful stereotypes. The ASA’s findings also show that many people have concerns that don’t necessarily affect them personally but may impact others – and that some groups may be particularly vulnerable when looking at specific areas of portrayal and imagery in ads. This indicates the ASA’s awareness that advertising has a significant impact on societal values and behaviours. This concern is particularly pronounced in relation to the portrayal of gender stereotypes, objectification and the representation of minority groups in ads.
Lastly, the report addresses the issue of misleadingness in advertising. The ASA’s findings show that more than half of respondents expressed concern about misleading customer reviews, with omissions of key information and deceptive imagery ranking highly. Notably, people are just as likely to worry about misleadingness on behalf of others as they are for themselves – reflecting a widespread recognition of its potential to cause financial harm. The report also highlights how misleading environmental claims and unclear ad labelling remain pressing concerns, which echoes the ASA’s stance to proactively regulate these areas to protect all consumers.
Why this matters:
This report is of interest for businesses as it highlights the key areas where advertising can potentially harm public perception and trust. It also gives a good indication into the areas that the ASA may focus on in the coming months and years. Understanding the concerns of the public and the interest areas for the ASA can help businesses create more responsible and effective advertising campaigns, thereby avoiding regulatory scrutiny and fostering a positive brand image.
