The Advertising Standards Authority‘s system of self-regulation compares favourably with that of similar bodies in many other countries. Its advertising code regulates, amongst others, offensive advertising. This study investigates whether the limitations imposed by the South African advertising code accord with the provisions of the South African Constitution. In order to examine this critically, an interpretative, comparative review of the literature on this topic was conducted. Offensive advertising is a form of freedom of expression that is protected in South Africa. It is accepted as such in constitutional jurisprudence, both in South Africa and internationally. The advertising code may therefore only limit advertising freedom insofar as the limitations of s 36 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 permit it. In terms of s 36, the South Africa advertising code needs to constitute a ‘law of general application’. As a contract between advertisers and the Advertising Standards Authority, and also based on the advertising code’s legal underpinning in broadcast advertising, the code is ‘law’. Moreover, as a published document based on international advertising principles, the code is furthermore also accessible; and it has general application. However, the vague terminology employed in the offensive advertising clause means that the clause constitutes an unenforceable contract term. It is not sufficiently clear and precise to qualify as ‘law of general application’, with the exception of the provisions on gender offence, the offensive advertising provisions are not formulated with sufficient precision so as to enable advertisers to reasonably ascertain prior to publication whether an advertisement is likely to be acceptable. The Constitutional Court in Islamic Unity Convention v Independent Broadcasting Authority NO 2002 (4) SA 294; 2002 (5) BCLR 433 para 30 highlighted the categories of offensive material that can be expected to be regulated in a democratic society, if fairness and a diversity of views representative of South African society is to be achieved, namely material that is (1) indecent, obscene or offensive to public morals; (2) offensive to religious convictions; or (3) offensive to feelings of sections of the population . The study concludes that in respect of sex, nudity, violence, and language, advertising material should be limited to appropriate media placement in that the South African advertising code should aim to protect children and unwilling adult recipients from offence occasioned by encountering such material, rather than preventing moral deterioration. The study also concludes that when dealing with religious convictions, race, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, age, disability, and culture, the prohibitions on advertising should mirror the provisions of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Act 4 of 2000), dealing with hate speech: If a category of offence is to be banned, such offence cannot be merely shocking but must result in hate speech. The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act is a direct result of the requirement in the Constitution, 1996 that national legislation must be enacted to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination. Finally, the study proposes amended provisions relating to offensive advertising for the South African advertising code: Firstly, it is proposes that an advertiser‘s freedom of expression should be curtailed in a manner that ensures fairness and a diversity of views broadly representing a democratic South African society. Secondly, the proposal aims to ensure that offensive advertising provisions accord with the value system of the Constitution, 1996, when collectively weighing up the requirements and factors provided for in s 36 of the Constitution, 1996, together with all other relevant factors. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

The thesis concerns itself with alcohol advertising. Alcohol is the most widespread habit-forming substance, yet its consumption is permitted in most countries all around the world, possibly restricted by the age of consumers only. Drinking alcohol cannot be either regulated or prohibited today. It has become commonplace for the majority of our lives. Being aware of its apparent risks, however, there is an effort to regulate at least alcohol advertising. The main objective of this work was to provide a comprehensive picture of alcohol advertising, with the focus on its regulation, concerning the legal regulation as well as the self-regulation. First, the thesis deals with advertising as such, its regulation in the course of time and how it has been regulated recently. The thesis further describes the adjustment of alcohol advertising, the legal amendment and its development, as well as the regulation through The Czech Advertising Standards Council and the development of this self- regulation. The next chapter focuses on the examination of alcohol advertising over the age. Based on the analysis of the advertising involvement of Pilsner Urquell, as the selected alcohol industry representative, it was found that advertising during the 20th century did not consider its legal, since it was very limited...

This work deals with advertising and its regulation both through legal norms and ethical self-regulation. Aim of the thesis is to define the scope given to advertising hyperbole and exaggeration by legal and ethical rules and based on selected decisions of the Czech Advertising Standards Council and rulings of Czech courts to provide a set of advice on how to use hyperbole in advertising. As groundwork for the research on the restrictions affecting use of advertising hyperbole there has been analyzed Czech legal and self-regulatory framework of advertising.

The main goal of this thesis is to determine university students’ attitudes towards ethics of advertising in the Czech Republic. In order to attain this goal, an empiric survey will be conducted among students by means of questionnaire inquiring. The theoretic part of the thesis deals generally with the concepts of ethics and advertising and their position and importance in the Czech Republic, the following part then provides examples of unethical advertisements from the Czech and foreign practices. The result of inquiring will be the establishment of the rate of tolerance or non-tolerance of respondents towards ethics of advertising in the Czech Republic and their subsequent formulation in the form of recommendations for involved groups. The thesis and its results will be submitted to the advertising agency and graphical studio GAD STUDIO s.r.o. with its registered seat in Brno. Its results will also be provided as feedback to the Czech Advertising Standards Council.

This diploma thesis is dedicated to the legal and ethical rules of advertisement, not only in relation to definitions and provisions of enactments and codes, but also to the point of view of cases solved in accordance to these rules. The thesis contains the definition of advertisement, characterization of illegal and unethical advertisement, description and comparison of self-regulation in the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, including codes which are applied by these bodies. The self-regulation of European Union is described marginally. The other part of the thesis represents opinions of consumers in connection with ethical principles in advertisements and advertisements in general. A significant part of the thesis is dedicated to the analysis of complaints and cases received and resolved by both self-regulatory bodies in the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom and cases resolved by Czech courts.

The unprecedented turbulence and uncertainty experienced in global economic and financial markets because of the 'credit crunch' has had a damaging impact on consumer confidence. Trust and credibility have been eroded as many customers feel let down by the banks suggesting the need for banks to rebuild constructive dialogue and long-term, meaningful relationships with their customers again. Though financial service, in this case, is considered a utilitarian service, based on the fact that money is needed to support people‘s daily activities, the present state of financial service has suggested the need for banks to appeal to consumers‘ emotions with the aim of improving their reputation. Also, the competition within the industry also could suggest the need to adopt an emotionally appealing advertisement strategy as emotions are known to play an influential role in building robust brand preference. This study builds on the communication theory, meaning transfer theory and consumer involvement theory, to understand the messages the banks are sending out and to elicit consumers‘ emotional reaction. One thousand, two hundred and seventy-four UK bank advertisements in nine national newspapers were content-analysed to identify the emotional appeals presented by the banks. The perception of these appeals and their associated meanings were sought through semi-structured interviews with 33 participants in London and Luton. The results of the analysis indicated that UK Banks are utilising emotional appeal in their advertisements to reach out to the consumers to convince them to upgrade their account, to open an additional account or switch their account. The most predominantly used appeals were relief and relaxation followed by excitement and happiness or satisfaction with the bank, and finally, security and adventure. However, variations were found in different financial products that employed emotional appeals. It was found that high-involvement products such as mortgages and loans used fewer emotional appeals. Both bank groups - high street banks, including the big four (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS) and non-high street banks, such as the new entrants, supermarket brands, and online banks were using emotional appeals. However, it is acknowledged that the communication strategies between these banks could be different as the non-high street banks are more likely to repeat and publish the same messages across many newspapers, instead of publishing different emotionally appealing advertisements. Though consumers acknowledged these emotional appeals in the advertisements, they were more concerned about their relationship with the banks as they don‘t rely on advertisements to make a financial decision. Rather, recommendations from families, friends and associates and also branch location are more important when deciding on which bank to choose. The lack of congruency between financial services and emotional appeals in advertisements is also observed as customers are more likely to be persuaded by rational appeals however this study has not completely ruled out emotional appeals in bank advertisements as the use of both types of appeals is recommended. The study provides important theoretical and managerial contributions to understanding how the consumers understand meaning-embedded advertisements produced by the banks. Managers will be able to consider the implications of advertisements in enhancing their brand equity and building relationships with customers in anticipation that, by word of the mouth and established relationship, their bank‘s reputation will be enhanced. Limitations of the study and opportunities for future research are identified.