Feel morally superior, complain to the ASA today.
Hyper-sensitive collectivists swarm social media when they detest an advert and consequently take their anger to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on mass. The reason for an increase in offence-taking is partly due to the increase in content quantity through the internet. If there is an abundance of content then there will equally be a relative abundance of offensive content. The other reason is instantaneous digital visibility from the target audience; the general public now have a bigger voice than the establishment. Another argument is the way millennials were raised but that argument has become saturated and done to death.
Example, Money Supermarket's male twerking advert was the most complained ad of 2016. Whilst it wasn't to my taste, I certainly wasn't offended by it nor did I feel misled. Now advertising agencies have to try not to offend anyone in the target audience which really sets a cap on the output variance. Creativity in the board room is also hindered, as anything too left field may be deemed offensive as the waters are untested. The only ad genre left that carries guaranteed complaint immunity is small fluffy animals. This prospect is rather sad and sucks the life out of what people see on their screens.
On the contrary, some adverts may have been justifiably off the mark ethically speaking, thus making a complaint would be valid. However, if I was to complain to the ASA I would try to do so with humility, logic and reason. This increases the likelihood of getting empathetic feedback with real dialogue and the possibility of further action.
Talking of empathy, I feel for the ASA complaint handling team. However, as a Brit I defend the public's every right to complain endlessly and even find it somewhat entertaining. Better to talk things through than to wet your pants in front of everyone though.
The ASA have said 62% of complaints are about misleadingness so apologies if I focused too much on the other 38% of offence/harm. Although, the ASA did also say 56% of women complain about offence/harm (Jan-June, 2017) over anything else.
Example, Money Supermarket's male twerking advert was the most complained ad of 2016. Whilst it wasn't to my taste, I certainly wasn't offended by it nor did I feel misled. Now advertising agencies have to try not to offend anyone in the target audience which really sets a cap on the output variance. Creativity in the board room is also hindered, as anything too left field may be deemed offensive as the waters are untested. The only ad genre left that carries guaranteed complaint immunity is small fluffy animals. This prospect is rather sad and sucks the life out of what people see on their screens.
On the contrary, some adverts may have been justifiably off the mark ethically speaking, thus making a complaint would be valid. However, if I was to complain to the ASA I would try to do so with humility, logic and reason. This increases the likelihood of getting empathetic feedback with real dialogue and the possibility of further action.
Talking of empathy, I feel for the ASA complaint handling team. However, as a Brit I defend the public's every right to complain endlessly and even find it somewhat entertaining. Better to talk things through than to wet your pants in front of everyone though.
The ASA have said 62% of complaints are about misleadingness so apologies if I focused too much on the other 38% of offence/harm. Although, the ASA did also say 56% of women complain about offence/harm (Jan-June, 2017) over anything else.
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