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Record number of ad complaints

26/04/2006

The British public made a record number of complaints over print and broadcast advertisements last year, according to new figures.

Some 26,236 complaints were received by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in 2005, up 16 per cent from 2004.

The industry watchdog said the rise was attributable to the implementation of a simpler complaints process.

Until November 2004 the government communications regulator Ofcom oversaw complaints about broadcast adverts, but the ASA now handles protests about both print and broadcast promotions.

"The one-stop shop is working, providing an accessible and straightforward route for consumers wishing to complain about advertising in any medium," said the ASA in its annual report.

But despite an overall increase in the number of complaints received by the watchdog, the ASA revealed that there were more complaints over fewer adverts in 2005. Last year 11,865 ads were complained about in contrast to 12,450 in 2004.

A "handful" of ads each generated a large number of complaints, the ASA said, including KFC’s commercial for its Zinger Crunch Salad, which became the most complained-about advert of all time.

The ad, which showed images of call centre staff singing with their mouths full, attracted 1,671 complaints, but the ASA ruled that the fast food chain had not broken any rules over the commercial.

No action was likewise deemed necessary in the case of four other adverts which also attracted the highest level of complaints.

Adverts for Pot Noodle snacks, Mazda cars, Living TV’s drama The L Word and Ryanair airlines all came under fire.

The majority of complaints came from members of the public who felt "misled or offended" by an advertisement they had seen or heard, the ASA said.

In all, 2,241 advertisements had to be changed or withdrawn as a result of ASA investigations in 2005.

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