During 1974 – at
a time when the UK Government was very critical of the
standard of UK advertising – the British advertising
recognised that it would be in its interest, greatly
to improve the existing regulation of non-broadcast
advertising. The leading advertising industry bodies
therefore agreed to raise funds for an enhanced system
of non-broadcast self-regulation, to be provided by
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). (Broadcast
advertising was the controlled under statute by the
ITCA).
Asbof was formed in January 1975 in order
to raise the funding of the ASA, and introduced the
levy scheme which continues to the present. Asbof was
deliberately constructed as a separate company, to handle
the funding of the ASA at arm’s length, thus ensuring
the ASA’s operational independence. Under this,
advertisers pay a levy of £1 per £1,000
on display advertising in press, magazines, cinema,
outdoor, and since August 2004, on internet advertising.
This is included by advertising agencies
in their media invoices to their clients, collected
by the agencies, and passed over to asbof.
Since 1992, asbof has also collected the
Mailing Standards levy.
This funds the self regulation of direct
mail, including the work of the Mailing Preference Scheme
(under which consumers can opt out of the receipt of
promotional direct mail) and the ASA. This levy is £2
per £1,000 on the cost of direct mail postage,
and is collected in the main by Royal Mail, which includes
this on their postage mailing invoices.
|
