We've been busy recording podcasts on some of our most popular or intriguing rulings. Each episode we delve into a handful of major rulings and explore what happened in each case. Which ads were complained about? What did the advertisers say? How did we reach our decisions? These are the questions we look to answer, shedding light on the investigation process and explaining the rules, context and considerations that go into each decision.
Each episode is available below, as well as on the ASA's Soundcloud account where you can subscribe to ensure you never miss an instalment.
Episode 7: Politics, gender and activists
In this episode we look into an ad from the Home Office and explain when the ASA can, or can't, assess 'political ads'. Next we turn to the contentious rulings we made on ads potentially containing harmful gender stereotypes - one upheld, one not upheld - and assess how we implemented our new rules banning such stereotypes from ads. Finally, we turn to an ad from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and explain why we thought the claim 'Wool is as cruel as fur' was misleading.
Episode 6: Who's a celebrity? What's an ad?
What makes someone a celebrity? Is it notoriety or follower counts? We were asked to investigate an ad from an influencer, promoting a medicinal product, and determine whether her online following meant she fell-foul of rules around celebrities promoting medicines. We also looked into a gambling ad, as well as a radio ad that misled listeners into thinking they were listening to a news bulletin.
Episode 5: Summer Time!
Summer is upon us! James, Jessica and Andrew discussed five summer-themed rulings, touching on various issues including dodgy price claims, depictions of harmful behaviour, and rule-breaking gamblers. The trio even attempted to answer the somewhat philosophical question, "when is summer?"
Episode 4: Easter and religious offence
At Easter, companies often make use of imagery that Christians deem to be sacred. In this episode of the ASA Rulings podcast, we're taking a look at Easter and Religious Offence. What do the Ad Codes say about using religious imagery in ads? Where's the line between religious protection and free expression?
Episode 3: Ethics and Activism
In episode 3 of our Rulings podcast, James, Andrew and Jess discuss a multitude of cases involving ethics and activism. We look at ads for vegan campaign groups, animal cruelty and 'fake faux-fur'.
Episode 2: Food, glorious food (and influencers)
In Episode 2 of our ASA Rulings podcast, our host James Miller is joined by Carrie Speer and Jacob Hatton as the trio delve into two rulings on ads for products high in fat, salt or sugar, as well as take a foray into Influencer marketing and labelling ads.
Episode 1: Dogs, Houses and Lashes
In our inaugural podcast, we discuss the reasons and rationale behind three high-profile rulings from the year so far. We look at Photobox's ad following complaints of animal cruelty, HMV-Competition's missteps and L'Oréal's luscious lashes.