Is the ASA on Ozempic?

The ASA has issued its Annual Report on its work in 2024.  And it's very slim. Not that it was bloated before (we don't want to be rude about previous Annual Reports). In fact, it reflects two buzzwords from 2024: Ozempic and AI. 

As usual, the report contains a smorgasbord of stats. In 2024, the ASA and CAP secured the amendment or withdrawal of 33,903 ads.  94% of these came from its proactive ad monitoring work scanning 28 million ads - illustrating how the ASA no longer waits for consumers or competitors to make complaints.  Many of the ads covered prescription-only medicines, cosmetic surgery overseas, whiskey cask investments, vapes, mini-heaters and green claims.  The ASA also used its AI tools in areas such as influencer marketing, financial advertising and gambling.

Online continues to be the most complained about media - 20,423 complaints relating to 16,530 ads; and TV remains the second most complained about media – 12,383 complaints relating to 4,008 ads.

Green claims and climate change remain a key area of focus for the ASA. The report says that green claims are becoming more precise and there is a high level of compliance, which is encouraging. However, it also says that there is more to do, and it is working with the Department for Transport to help develop further guidance for airlines, as well as supporting the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in its plans for a key consultation on voluntary carbon markets. This ad from Air France suggests there is more work to do.

We recently wrote about Ofcom's guidance concerning the prevention of harm to children online, and the ASA has also highlighted its work to protect children and young people. An example was its latest Tech4Good project, which sought to understand the online distribution chain of ads for alcohol, gambling and other age-restricted ads with the aim of reducing children’s exposure to them on websites and YouTube channels disproportionately popular with this age group. It has also continued its work to find and ban online advertising for vapes. It will be publishing the results of another Tech4Good project next year, looking into the online supply pathway of in-app ads that objectify women, and reviewing new research into young people’s media habits to consider if it should take a stricter approach to the application of the gambling advertising rules.

As well as children, the ASA has been looking at vulnerable consumers more generally, especially with regard to health claims and financial services.  It will work with its data science team to find new areas of concern, as well as ensuring that its existing interventions are working.

The ASA has been talking to consumers to understand their attitudes to advertising, and this informs its approach to various topics as well as protecting the vulnerable.  In 2025, it will publish a report on the public’s views on the depiction of older people in ads and to what extent certain portrayals give rise to offence or harm.

We can't remember too many adjudications regarding this issue, but this one from 2014 stands out. It managed to provoke offence on the grounds of race, because it implied that an interracial relationship was socially unacceptable; and age, because it implied that a relationship between an older woman and a younger man was socially unacceptable. All the complaints about both issues were upheld. Ironically, ads for vapes have become increasingly taboo with the ASA since 2014, with vapes no longer being considered an aide for quitting smoking, but increasingly seen as a gateway into smoking. 

The ASA continues to be involved in the Online Advertising Programme Taskforce, which aims to find better ways of minimising scam ads and mis-targeting of age-restricted ads online.  In 2026, it intends to formalise its Intermediary and Platform Principles online regulatory framework primarily focused on holding advertisers to account for the creative content and placement of their ads.

In the video published to launch the Annual Report, Guy Parker, the Chief Executive (looking svelte, as always, with no need for a skinny jab), makes great play of the ASA's transformation to a proactive and preventative advertiser, particularly through the use of its AI tools. This is consistent with his long-standing ambition for the ASA to set its own agenda, based on its own assessment of consumer detriment, rather than reacting to the demands of consumer complaints, sometimes driven by the tabloid media. (The investigation about which is the most successful football team in Scotland, Celtic or Rangers, stands out as one that was not a great use of the ASA's resources.)  He also mentions that there is other content to come from the ASA, which is related to the Annual Report, including videos on subjects such as protecting vulnerable audiences and making responsible green claims. 

You can also click on links from the Annual Report to specific updates, including one from Sir Hayden Philips, the Independent Reviewer of the ASA. It is interesting to note that of the 18 requests for Independent Review that Sir Hayden received in 2024 across both broadcast and non-broadcast media, he only referred 1 case back to the ASA Council for the investigation to be re-opened. The key lesson from that statistic is that you must front-load your defence of an ASA investigation, and do everything possible to secure a ‘Not Upheld’ Draft Recommendation from the ASA Executive. Hopefully the Recommendation will then be followed by the ASA Council, because securing an Independent Review after an ‘Upheld’ adjudication is a long-shot. 

Sadly, however, what we are missing from recent Annual Reports is the countdown of the top ten most complained-about ads of the year, which was always a highlight that we particularly enjoyed. It seems unlikely that the countdown will return, given that the ASA is now so focused on investigating the complaints that are unearthed using AI. It also leaves us wondering whether this ad featuring Oscar Pistorious will ever be knocked off its perch as the most complained-about of all time, with a staggering 5,525 complaints. At least that's one world record Oscar will never lose.