Countdown to our 50th anniversary: 1984 - 1985

31 August 2012

As we continue our retrospective on the last 50 years we reach 1984. A quick snapshot of the year reveals things were quite stormy. A bolt of lightning struck York Minster causing extensive fire damage and the Thames Barrier was opened to protect London from floods.

Our Annual Report from that year is, in comparison, more of a gentle breeze. An amendment to the Code “provided the opportunity to revise the rules about political advertisements”, satisfying a concern that the Chairman had raised the previous year.

Car and motor accessory advertising was, again, the most complained about sector. We also voiced with some consternation our concern that advertising for computers had moved up to second in the list, noting that it was ”an accentuation of last year's trend which we deplore”.

Nor were we shy on commenting on the, sometimes, slow turning wheels in the European machine. The Advertising Codes have long been underpinned by, and reflect, consumer protection legislation. In 1984 the European Commission passed a Directive that covered misleading advertising practices that all member states would have to adopt by 1986. This announcement prompted us to comment dryly that:

“After a long gestation, the Brussels mountain has delivered half a mouse; ten years proved too short a time to produce a directive which dealt with both misleading and unfair advertising. So unfair advertising has been left as a labour for the future.”

Lastly, after the ASA’s previous forays into the world of film it was now CAP’s turn to share the limelight. It launched a new film “To CAP it all” which explained “how the British Code of Advertising Practice is applied.” It was apparently “available on free loan”. They were queuing out on the streets for that one.

Read the 1984 Annual report here