ALRC endorses AANA’s self-regulatory system
Fri 2 March 2012
AANA’s system of self-regulation of advertising has been given a strong endorsement by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in its recent Classification Review.
The Report Classification—Content Regulation and Convergent Media, noted: “Advertisements for content that must be classified—such as trailers for feature films—are currently expected to comply both with the mandatory laws under the national classification scheme and with industry codes, such as the Australian Association of National Advertisers’ (AANA) Code of Ethics. “
In its report, the ALRC stated that “advertisements for content that must be classified should continue to be subject to the existing voluntary advertising codes, with complaints being handled by the Advertising Standards Board.”
However, the ALRC has also recommended that the AANA codes be amended to provide that, in assessing the suitability of an advertisement for media content that must be classified, the following matters should be considered:
(a) the likely audience of the advertisement; (b) the impact of the content in the advertisement; and (c) the classification or likely classification of the advertised content.
“Self-regulation is the most efficient, flexible, consumer-responsive and cost effective means of ensuring that all marketing communications continue to meet community expectations. AANA has ensured that its Codes evolve with the times and will take the ALRC’s recommendations into consideration,” said AANA CEO, Scott McClellan.
“The key themes of the ALRC report are consistency and simplicity for industry participants and for the public and this is welcome. It is also good to see ALRC recognises that new technology developments help empower parents to exercise greater control over what their children watch irrespective of the media platform.”
http://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/final_report_118_for_web.pdf
For further information:
Scott McClellan
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Association of National Advertisers
Phone: 02 9221 8088
