The jury is out on that, but, in many ways, having a bit of a nerdy side is probably no bad thing for a regulator.
Do not be deceived by his boyish looks; 39-year-old Parker may not be a typical industry figurehead, but his insider knowledge is well suited to the rigours of his role. 'There are a lot of systems, processes and politics - to do my job you have to be quite comfortable with systems,' he says.
When Parker gets into his flow, detailing the various committees, sub-committees, councils and procedures involved in regulating advertising, it becomes obvious that the body needs to be led by someone with such close attention to detail.
It is no surprise to learn that Parker, who was appointed to the top job in June following the departure of Christopher Graham, has spent his entire working life at the ASA.
'I grew up wanting to be a regulator,' he deadpans in his easy manner. The truth is that after graduating, he took the well-regarded diploma in advertising at what was then Watford College, because he was not sure what to do. After a few spells of work experience at agencies bore no fruit in terms of a solid job offer, against the backdrop of the tough economic climate in the early 90s, he took a full-time job at the ASA.
Seventeen years on, Parker finds himself at the helm of an organisation with a staff of 95, which is celebrating five years as a 'one-stop shop' for ad complaints. Before that, the ASA's remit covered only non-broadcast advertising - a situation that confused consumers and businesses alike.
Parker was director of complaints and investigations when the body was handed the additional responsibility from Ofcom, a role that placed him at the heart of the action. Although the handover itself was smooth, the next 18 months were spent aligning the values of the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre and the ASA. 'We were upholding complaints against TV ads after pre-clearance more often than we were comfortable with,' he explains.
Today, consistency is again a theme, with the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice and Committee of Advertising Practice codes under review.
The aim is to simplify the codes and update the rules on areas such as consumer protection, health, sustainability and advertising to children. It is a titanic task - 4000 submissions have been received and 40,000 signatures on petitions - which has already been subject to delays due to the scale of the response to the consultation.
In what has been a busy year, the ASA also embarked on a review of its processes. The announcement of this followed critic-ism of its appeals process from media lawyer Brinsley Dresden, but Parker claims the ASA always intended to look at this area.
As well as an intimate knowledge of the ASA, Parker also has a deep understanding of advertising self-regulatory organisations (SRO) the world over. He read politics and international relations at the University of Kent and his enthusiasm for joint working across countries is evident.
An internationalist, and an executive member of the European Advertising Standards Alliance, he sees a need for SROs to deal with global issues, such as online behavioural advertising and concerns over the commercialisation of childhood, together. 'The world is getting smaller and these problems are shared,' he says. 'There is no point in the UK forging ahead and agreeing guidelines on something if it is completely out of kilter with what's happening in Europe and America.'
This should not be interpreted as a wish to cede power, however. He is concerned by developments such as the European Food Standards Authority taking over the pre-clearance of health claims in ads. 'It's better if SROs are properly funded and run and delivering a full complement of services, then left to get on with it. If there is a constant nibbling away with new regimes, it undermines the "one-stop shopness" of the whole edifice,' he says with conviction.
Parker's comments on the nature of the ASA's equivalents in Europe reveal some-thing of the British public's psyche. Staggeringly, more than half of all ad complaints in Europe are handled by the ASA.
'People talk about Brits as not being great complainers and I think that's true,' says Parker. 'In restaurants, we don't complain, but remotely, we are very good complainers. There is really quite an important distinction to be made. In places like Eastern European countries, there are not many complaints not because the SROs aren't well known, but I think because people have got better things to do.'
It is only within the past couple of years that France has established a body to deal with complaints, driven mainly by the sustainability agenda, while in Germany most claims on misleading ads are handled by the courts. Sweden, meanwhile, started its SRO this year; 70% of the complaints it has received have been about gender stereotyping, an issue that arises more rarely here.
Parker is relaxed about the apparently disproportionate number of complaints the ASA handles. 'I'm pretty sure that it is [down to] aware-ness of the ASA, rather than the deterioration of standards in advertising. The vast majority of advertisers comply with the rules,' he says.
Another reason for its high volume of cases is that it has become easier to complain; 85% of gripes now come via the ASA's online system. 'It's important that we are accessible, but the flip-side is there is more work to do,' says Parker.
Another development that is set to significantly increase its workload is the extension of the ASA's remit to cover websites. A valuable step forward has been made in terms of funding the regulation of paid search with the news that Google is willing to make a contribution, but there are still issues to be resolved concerning the digital sphere - namely, what does and does not constitute marketing on websites. 'If we are going into this space, we need to know where the boundary lines are,' says Parker.
As the ASA is funded by a levy on advertising, its revenues are down, about 10% year on year, so 2010 promises to be a time of change as it copes with a tough financial situation and the changes brought about by the various reviews. In Parker, however, the ASA has an experienced operator to guide it through.