Day 050 - 10 Nov 94 - Page 06

     
     1        self-regulation.  But complaints are handled either by the
     2        staff of the ASA or, in the case of major and contentious
     3        complaints, by the Council of the ASA, which is an
     4        independent body with a majority of people who are nothing
     5        to do with advertising.
     6
     7        So complaints are dealt with outside the self-regulatory --
     8        in parallel with the self-regulatory structure.  Have
     9        I made that clear?
    10
    11   Q.   Yes.  So the Code of Practice is drawn up by the industry?
    12        A.  Yes.
    13
    14   Q.   For the ASA?
    15        A.  And accepted or not by the ASA; the ASA has the right
    16        to say:  "No, we do not think this is a realistic phrase,
    17        clause, section."  So it is by agreement with them, and
    18        then implemented independently by them.
    19
    20   Q.   Is there anything different in that procedure with the ITC?
         A.  Yes.  There is a difference, in that the ITC Code is
    22        not self-regulatory; it is drawn up by the ITC staff and
    23        agreed by the Advertising Advisory Committee on which
    24        industry representatives sit, but are not in the majority.
    25        So, although the ITC works in a very consultative way, it
    26        is not a self-regulatory code.
    27
    28   Q.   Would you just say where the ASA gets it funding from?
    29        A.  The ASA draws its funding from an organisation called
    30        ASBOF, the Advertising Standards Board of Finance, which in
    31        turn gets its money from a levy on all advertising.
    32
    33   Q.   You said that something like two out of 1,000 complaints
    34        are successful?
    35        A.  I do not think that I said that figure.  But,
    36        certainly, the number of complaints about food advertising
    37        is very small, it is a very small proportion; and the
    38        number that are upheld are very small.
    39
    40   Q.   But in the total of what percentage -- that indicates
         something like 0.2 of a per cent of complaints are
    42        successful.  Is that the figure?
    43        A.  I am not sure which figures you are referring to.  Are
    44        you referring to the ASA or the ITC?
    45
    46   Q.   If we look at the ITC, which we are mainly concerned with,
    47        out of all the complaints, how many are there and how many
    48        are successful?
    49        A.  A very small proportion.  I do not have the figure in
    50        my head, but it might be four or five per month. 
    51 
    52   Q.   Are successful? 
    53        A.  Yes.  Successful, if I may suggest, is the wrong way of
    54        expressing it.  You have to remember that all scripts for
    55        TV commercials have been pre-vetted, all finished films
    56        have been pre-vetted.  Therefore, any complaint which is
    57        upheld is of something which was not spotted by the ITC or
    58        the BACC during that pre-screening process.  It is often,
    59        therefore, something which is pointed out which has not
    60        been seen.  I think to call that "successful" is perhaps