UK Advertising Watchdog Faces Criticism Over Its Own Campaigns

Published: 08 September ‘2025. The English Chronicle Desk

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the body responsible for regulating advertising across the country, is facing a complaint over its own nationwide marketing campaign, with critics alleging it may have breached the very rules it enforces.

The ASA, which monitors advertising to ensure compliance with UK regulations, recently launched a campaign in partnership with household brands such as Tesco, Comparethemarket, and Lloyds Bank. The initiative repurposed familiar brand slogans to underscore the ASA’s role in overseeing advertising across multiple platforms, including TV, print, billboards, and online. For instance, Tesco’s slogan was adapted to read: “We regulate ads across all media, including online. Because every little helps.”

Campaigning groups including the New Weather Institute, Badvertising, and Adfree Cities have lodged a complaint, arguing that the ASA’s claims are misleading. The groups assert that the ASA does not have authority over certain types of advertising, such as shop window displays, point-of-sale promotions, parts of airports, flyposting, pitch-side hoardings at televised sports events, and certain social media content.

Andrew Simms, co-director of the New Weather Institute and co-founder of Badvertising, said, “The ASA projects itself as a guardian against misleading advertising, but it cannot prevent multiple ads that misinform the public daily. It is crucial that a regulator lives up to the standards it enforces.”

Established in 1962, the ASA is funded by a levy on advertising agencies and is responsible for ensuring adherence to the UK advertising code. Last year, it successfully amended or withdrew over 33,000 ads and handled more than 37,000 complaints. The ASA also recently implemented artificial intelligence monitoring, processing 28 million ads.

In response to the complaint, an ASA spokesperson said, “Our campaign clarifies that we regulate ads in ‘all media’ rather than every individual advertisement. Like any regulator, there are defined limits to our remit, and it would not be appropriate for the ASA to investigate its own advertising.”

While the ASA operates independently of the advertising industry, its council acts as its governing body, leaving no external organization to oversee the ASA’s own campaigns. Campaigning groups continue to advocate for a statutory regulator to replace the ASA, citing limitations in its current authority, particularly regarding areas like climate-related advertising, gambling, alcohol, and junk food promotions.

Robbie Gillett, co-director of Adfree Cities, urged the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to “review the ASA’s restricted remit and engage with a broader range of stakeholders to ensure advertising is properly regulated.”