The ASA recently published a report providing a unique insight into the online supply pathway of ads for alcohol, gambling and other age-restricted ads.
Given concerns about children’s exposure to these ads in media popular with them, the study uniquely presented the perspectives of advertisers, publishers and ad supply intermediaries on the relatively few cases, identified by our automated monitoring, of age-restricted ads mistargeted to websites and YouTube channels disproportionately popular with children.
The report presents a positive picture of how the industry is working to limit children’s exposure to age-restricted ads in these and other online environments and delivers insights that should help to reduce still further children’s exposure to age-restricted ads online.
Findings
The findings of the ASA’s three months’ avatar-based monitoring showed that, of the 82,657 occasions when an ad was served in the monitored media, 133 (or 0.16%) related to age-restricted ads mistargeted to a child or neutral avatar. Just 50 (0.06% of the total) were served to a child avatar.
Additionally, the report provided specific case study evidence around mis-categorisation of age-restricted ads, which if categorised correctly were likely to have prevented the ad from being served. The range of responses we received from parties identified in the report revealed the various and substantial compliance processes in place, and steps taken, to target age-restricted ads away from children in line with CAP Guidance on Age-restricted Ads Online.
Key themes
Whilst few in number, some themes that emerged from the case studies that help to explain why age-restricted ads were mistargeted to sites disproportionately popular with children and delivered to a child or neutral profile, included:
- Mis-categorisation or otherwise inadequate categorisation of the age-restricted ad.
- Omitting to include, on the basis of regular monitoring or other means, sites disproportionately popular with children in suitably comprehensive blocklists; and
- Mis-categorisation or otherwise inadequate categorisation of the audience profile and/or the audience-directed content of the sites.
Top tips for marketers of age-restricted ads:
- Marketers and other third parties should categorise correctly to signify the age-restricted nature of the ad.
- Marketers and other third parties should have an updated blocklist from conducting periodic monitoring of sites disproportionately popular with children.
- Sites and channels should be content-assessed to determine whether the site is an appropriate destination for an age-restricted ad.
- Channels and websites should actively monitor their audience profiles on an ongoing basis, and make sure that they categorise themselves as ‘Made for Kids’ or similar, having child-directed content or equivalent, if data shows their sites have regularly attracted a disproportionate amount of under-18’s in the audience.
For advice on age-restricted ads, speak to the Copy Advice team, and to read the ASA’s full report see here.
More on
-
Keep up to date
Sign up to our rulings, newsletters and emargoed access for Press. Subscribe now.
