Upheavals

Do social media negate the need for advertising standards?

Now that consumers have the means to voice their support or condemnation globally for whatever happens in the public arena via social media, I wonder whether Twitter, Facebook, Bebo et al are eclipsing the need for advertising standards.

As it stands, viewers who see advertising messages that offend them file a complaint over said message with the regulators who then rule on its suitability. That keeps the rubber stampers busy but it can be very frustrating for advertisers who find themselves needing to conform with a whole range of rules that many believe simply do not reflect the programmes people watch and changes in how communities think. (Anyone whose ever worked in an ad agency will be nodding at this point.)

Social media networks bypass that whole process by allowing consumers to put pressure on, or endorse the actions of, marketers directly and en masse. A recent beverage ad for example invited viewers to see the “uncut” version on YouTube. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this version would never have made it on-air as a marketing message.

Does that make regulation anachronistic? And should we even be worried if marketers do air material that doesn’t conform with the rules – because in the end such actions must work against them if consumers are offended and organise and boycott their products in large enough numbers?

Then again, is the social media watchdog enough? Would the potential for mass action keep advertisers from going too far, how far is that anyway and are the social media mature enough as a channel yet to act as the taste police? Do they give a tech-savvy global audience a level of control over what is and is not said that is potentially very disturbing? Or do they have that already?

Slippery slope. Welcome change. Or natural development … Yip, one of those. Bit like this puzzle really. Which came first? The cat, the bag or the exit sign?

POSTED: Tuesday, 19 May 2009

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