Reports & research

The ASA regularly carries out sector surveys of the advertising we regulate to check compliance with the Codes. We also conduct research amongst the public to help inform our work. You can access copies of these reports here.

Research that is five or more years old can be found in the Archived reports and research section.
 

Compliance reports

The ASA’s Compliance reports help ensure that rulings with sector-wide implications are adhered to by advertisers. This research is usually targeted towards sensitive areas or those that have a history of problems, and allows us to anticipate trends and identify potential problems.

• 2012 Online Advertising Survey - the ASA’s Compliance team has undertaken this survey to determine the compliance rate of marketing claims on companies’ own websites and in other non-paid-for space online under their control. The same survey was conducted in 2011, and this survey serves as a comparison against it.
• 2011 Online Advertising Survey - A survey conducted across a range of company websites in eight broad sectors, in the two months before the ASA’s remit was extended to include companies’ marketing claims on their own websites. It will serve as a benchmark survey against which the 2012 follow-up survey will be compared.
• Gambling Advertising Survey 2010 - A survey of ads from the gambling sector appearing in the media in July 2010, showing a compliance rate of 96.1%.
• Alcohol Advertising Survey 2009 - A sample survey of alcohol ads appearing across media in the pre-Christmas period 2009, revealing a compliance rate of 99.7%.
• Food and Soft Drink Advertising Survey 2009 - An assessment of over 1,000 ads during October 2009 appearing across media, to measure their compliance with the content rules relating to food and soft drink advertising.
• Health and Beauty Products and Therapies Advertisements Survey 2009 - A survey of broadcast and non-broadcast ads for health and beauty products and therapies, completed in February 2009.

Stakeholder consultation event reports

These reports provide summaries of events and consultations which the ASA undertakes with its stakeholders.

• Too much, too young – are advertisers sexualising childhood? A summary of a stakeholder consultation event held in Manchester in 2011.
• Advertising and young people - ASA engagement with young people, parents and teachers - A research report relating to the ASA’s engagement work undertaken to help the ASA fulfil its commitment to better understand the views of parents, teachers and young people
• Alcohol adverting - the right measure - A summary of a stakeholder consultation event relating to the alcohol advertising rules held in Edinburgh in 2008.
• Environmental claims in advertising. Is green a grey area? - A report on a stakeholder consultation seminar held in London in 2008 on environmental claims in advertising.
• What you looking at? Drawing the line on violence in advertising - A summary of an event held to consider the use of violent imagery in advertisements, held in Nottingham in 2007.

Research reports

The ASA, in conjunction with other media regulators, undertakes a wide range of research reports amongst the public and academics to ensure that we are reflecting the public’s standards in our rulings.

• ASA Harm and offence report - ASA research, conducted by Ipsos Mori, looking at the what the public find harmful and offensive in UK advertising.