Shoddy production values are at the heart of the new campaign for the Advertising Standards Authority, which marks almost a year since it took on responsibility for regulating broadcast advertising.
It is the first time ASA ads have appeared on television. In the spot, created by Columns Design and directed by Iodine's Michael Keillor, the actor Matthew Bearn is shown on a low-budget set, unrealistically driving a sports car that is clearly in front of a fake backdrop, with badly synched sound.
He explains that while the ASA commercial might be a bit rubbish, it does not break any of the advertising codes. The theme is picked up in print ads, which use the lines such as: "We're here to make advertising better. (Not to make better advertising. Sorry)."
The ads will appear in space donated by the advertising industry, including in newspapers, magazines, poster sites and on television and radio.
The awareness-raising project comes during a year in which the ASA expects to receive 33,000 complaints -- a 33% rise on last year. Among the biggest offenders was a KFC ad that received more than 1,600 complaints, but managed to escape a ban.
Christopher Graham, ASA director general, said that while the new ad campaign was not designed to win any awards for creativity or production, it was there to reassure the audience.
"Making an ad for the advertising regulator is probably the toughest brief that you can give an advertising agency. Our message is clear: we'll leave the good, creative advertising to the professionals and will stick to our role -- ensuring that the ads that do appear aren't harmful, misleading or offensive," he said.
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