The ASA have released a post on ‘Protecting Vulnerable People’. I have enclosed the text of the link below, but please have a look at the ASA site as there are lots of things of interest to anyone with an interest in Ethical Marketing.
The CAP and BCAP have published their guidance on protecting vulnerable people. Vulnerability is a theme that runs through the work of the self-regulatory system for advertising, and is protected under the Codes. It can derive both from membership of a particular group sharing certain characteristics (for example, children) or as a result of particular circumstances (for example, a recent bereavement or financial problem).
As the guidance sets out, the Codes include rules focused on content designed to minimise the potential for ads to cause harm, as well as scheduling and targeting rules which make sure vulnerable people do not make up a disproportionately large part of an ad’s audience.
Examples of the types of protections CAP and BCAP have put in place include restrictions on advertising for products like alcohol and gambling, but also extend to particular audiences, like children or those sharing protected characteristics.
To find out more, read the guidance.
