The ASA recruits Marmite and Mastercard to rebuild trust in advertising

A new campaign promoting the work of the Advertising Standards Authority is well-timed: PM Boris Johnson is currently chipping away at the industry’s prized self-regulatory system with his anti-obesity drive, which threatens to place further limits on junk food advertising.

As well as Marmite and Mastercard, other big brands including Tesco, Audi and Churchill have all put a fresh twist on their own most famous ad campaigns for the ASA work, which runs on TV, in print, outdoor and online, starting in Scotland.

Ads for betting, and even alcohol, are also potentially in the firing line for further government regulation, so this campaign has a job to do. It carries the message that the watchdog takes responsibility for keeping all advertising – including online campaigns – legal, decent, honest and truthful.

Stephen Woodford, Advertising Association CEO, said: “Strong awareness of the ASA as an effective regulator of advertising content correlates with public trust in advertising. The creative idea harnesses the power of some of Britain’s best-loved campaigns and is a tremendous demonstration of the industry support for our world-class self-regulatory system.”

One of the key objectives of the work, created by The Leith Agency, is to raise awareness that the ASA regulates online ads. Only one third of the UK is aware that the ASA covers website and social media ads.