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tacky ads on television
Lifting ban on hypnotists and escort services
By Simon Bond
Sweeping changes to
the rules that govern who is allowed to advertise on TV in the UK are set
to come into force next year if the sector's watchdog, the Independent
Television Commission (ITC) has its way.
However, the proposals that would open the TV airwaves
to adverts for escort agencies, hair loss cures and alcoholism treatments,
have been slammed by The Daily Mail, the top-selling tabloid guardian of
"middle England's" sensibilities.
The ITC is proposing to lift its longstanding ban
on advertisements for an array of products and services, which also
include private detectives, correspondence schools and hypnotists.
However, the watchdog has drawn the line at politicians, who
will continue to be barred from advertising themselves or their services
unless parliament decides otherwise.
The proposals are set out in the consultation paper
published last week and are an attempt to bring TV advertising into line
with other commercial media in the UK.
The restrictions on television commercials have
traditionally been tougher than on other forms of advertising because
of policies dating back over half a century that aimed to protect
viewers from what was perceived as TV's extraordinary influence.
The ITC argues that the rules are now out of touch with
public attitudes towards a protective "Nanny State" and most
people's perceptions of what is acceptable on TV.
Furthermore, the ITC suggests that commercial
television has lost some of its unique power of influence in recent years
because of the rapid growth of other media, including new pay television
channels and the Internet.
The ITC, which is facing an examination of its
own role under a government review of media regulation, says some rules
will still be necessary to make sure people were not misled, children
protected, and harm or offence was avoided.
But it recommends that its duties should now be carried out
with a "lighter touch." The watchdog is initially proposing to
remove 16 rules from its code of advertising standards and practice and
has also asked for further suggestions on how to amend other rules,
including those that currently ban advertising by religious bodies and
cults.
The consultation is a blessing to the circulation of
The Daily Mail, which has gone into overkill on the issue, billing it as a
battleground with those who it labels as the 'pornographers" in
charge of UK television.
More cynical observers have not been slow in drawing
attention to the commercial savvy that may lay behind the newspaper's
self-righteous crusade for tasteful TV advertising.
With its own pages bursting with lucrative small ads
for tummy tucks and incontinence pants, perhaps it is equally
nervous that these advertisers may leave its own inky pages for the more
glamorous environment of television.
-Simon Bond covers European media for Media Life, writing from outside of London.
