Category: advertising

Massaging the political advertising ban

| 6 Comments
| advertising, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Freedom of Expression

Cover of McLuhan and Fiore's 'The Medium is the Massage' via PenguinSection 41(3) of the new Broadcasting Act, 2009 (pdf) provides:

A broadcaster shall not broadcast an advertisement which is directed towards a political end or which has any relation to an industrial dispute.

This sub-section (in conjunction with section 41(4), which contains a ban on religious advertising) re–enacts long–standing bans on political (and religious) advertising; though such a ban is unlikely to survive challenge in the European Court of Human Rights.

Dr Kevin Rafter, Head of the Department of Film and Media, in the School of Creative Arts, at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology has just written a fascinating report on Political Advertising: The regulatory Position and the Public View (here) for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). I’m glad to see this for at least two reasons.

First, it means that the BAI has hit the ground running. In October, the Minister announced five members of the Authority; according to section 13(7) of the Act, the quorum for meetings of the authority is five, so it has been operational since these five members were appointed by the Minister. However, the full membership is nine, and the other four members are being appointed by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.…

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Ban on corporate donations could face legal action

| 2 Comments
| advertising, campaign finance, Freedom of Expression

John Gormley, via the Sunday Tribune siteShane Coleman has a fascinating piece in today’s Sunday Tribune (with added links):

Ban on corporate donations could face legal action

A key part of the newly revised programme for government [scribd, see pp34-35] to end corporate donations to individual politicians and political parties could be open to constitutional challenge … [there is] “definitely a freedom of expression issue” about such a move and that it was “not straightforward”.

… however … the Supreme Court here has previously upheld restrictions on political advertising for reasons that “could sustain the validity” of a ban on donations to individual politicians and parties. … legislation attempting to regulate expenditure in US elections had been struck down by the US Supreme Court on freedom of expression grounds and that the European Court of Human Rights had also raised questions about such restrictions. Emphasising again the broadcast ban on political advertising, … [it is] “open question” as to whether the arguments made in the US on freedom of expression were “as strong in an Irish context” … [especially because] the Irish constitutional protection of freedom of expression was “not a particularly strong one”.

[On the other hand], speaking to the Sunday Tribune, environment minister and Green Party leader John Gormley [pictured top left] said he was confident the ban would be legally sound: … “If you have a situation as in the United States, where you have the best democracy money can buy, that is not conducive to a fairer, more equal society”.

…

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The political advertising ban rears its ugly head again

| 2 Comments
| advertising, Freedom of Expression, Irish Society

Shell to Sea, via their siteI’m sorry I’m coming to this too late to attend the gig, but I’ve only just seen this piece by Lorna Siggins in today’s Irish Times (with added links):

RTÉ denies censorship of Afri advert over Rossport reference

RTÉ has denied that it has refused to broadcast an advertisement for a social event in Dublin tonight that includes a reference to the Mayo village of Rossport.

Justice and peace non-governmental organisation Afri said RTÉ is censoring its attempt to publicise the event, although it is willing to pay for the 20-second advertisement. An advert for the event was carried on the 98FM radio station yesterday.

Health and safety concerns about original plans by Shell EP Ireland for a high-pressure onshore pipeline led to the jailing of five men known as the Rossport Five for 94 days in 2005.

Over two months ago, RTÉ said it had “difficulties” with the wording of an advertisement for the Afri famine walk because of the reference to Rossport.

MidWest Radio had also declined to accept an advertisement for the famine walk from Afri, saying it had to consult the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) on a reference to the Rossport Five.

…

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The good, the bad, and the ugly

| 3 Comments
| advertising, Defamation, Defamation Bill 2006, Press Council, Privacy

Poster for movie 'The good, the bad and the ugly' via the Rotten Tomatoes movie website.Three stories from today’s Irish Times caught my eye. First, the good. The Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman launched their first annual report yesterday. The press industry undoubtedly did a good thing in establishing the Press Council and the Ombudsman, and yesterday’s report on the first year of operation shows the wisdom of that decision. The launch of the report is covered in the Home News section of the Irish Times, and welcomed in the lead editorial . From the report [with added links]:

Praise for complaints system after release of Press Ombudsman’s report

AGGRIEVED READERS made over 370 complaints about newspapers and magazines last year during the Press Ombudsman‘s first year of work, his annual report reveals. … Reviewing the performance of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman in their annual report published yesterday, council chairman Prof Tom Mitchell said the innovative and effective regulatory system offered significant benefits to the press and public. …

Moreover, speaking at the launch, the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, said he hoped that the long-delayed Defamation Bill, 2006 would become law by the summer, an aspiration which Prof Mitchell greeted as “wonderful news”.…

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Non-religious advertising

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| advertising, Uncategorized

The British Humanist Association (BHA) ran an entertaining advertising campaign on London buses last year, and it has just announced that it will run the campaign nationwide. The campaign is built around the slogan:

BHA advert, via their site.


However, religious groups – including Christian Voice – complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, arguing that the bus campaign broke the advertising code on the grounds of substantiation and truthfulness. The Guardian (hat tip: Media Law Prof Blog) picks up the story:

ASA clears Atheist Bus Campaign ads

… The advertising watchdog has ruled that a controversial atheist ad campaign, which sparked the ire of Christian groups for proclaiming “There is probably no God”, did not break its code …

See also: AFP | BBC | Index on Censorship | Telegraph | TimesOnline. From the ASA statement:

Atheist bus ad campaign is not in breach of the Advertising Code

… The ASA Council concluded that the ad was an expression of the advertiser’s opinion and that the claims in it were not capable of objective substantiation. Although the ASA acknowledges that the content of the ad would be at odds with the beliefs of many, it concluded that it was unlikely to mislead or to cause serious or widespread offence.

…

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Normal service is being resumed: religious and political advertising bans

| 8 Comments
| advertising, Freedom of Expression, Media and Communications

Regular readers of this blog will know that section 20(4) of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 (also here) and section 10(3) of the Radio and Television Act, 1988 (also here) as amended by section 65 of the Broadcasting Act, 2001 (also here) prohibit broadcast advertising in Ireland directed to any religious or political end (see here | here | here | here | here | here).

Edit: The remainder of this long post discusses the validity of such bans in the US, the ECHR, Ireland and the UK, by way of background three recent developments: debate about a failure to take a current legislative opportunity to amend the Irish legislation, another ban on an Irish religious advertisement, and an ECHR decision striking down a political advertising ban. …

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Vouching for Consumers

| No Comments
| advertising, Consumer, Contract, Irish Society

NCA logo, via their siteThe Consumer Protection Act, 2007 (also here), though it is the latest in a long line of piecemeal legislative forays into the area, nevertheless bids fair to provide substantial protection for consumers, provided both that the National Consumer Agency established under it is vigilant and active in that goal, and that it is allowed to be (for example, it may not survive in its current form calls (for example, by Fine Gael) for its abolition as part of the government’s cost-cutting desire to merge various statutory agencies). One important step was taken yesterday with the publication of draft guidelines for the retail sector. …

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Dell’s Mistake

| 9 Comments
| advertising, Contract, Mistaken offers

Dell Logo 2008It is the error everyone online dreams about – a full-price item for practically nothing; and it happened, in Chile. For those who remember the case of the mistaken flights last April, Andres Guadamuz tells us about a massive pricing error made by Dell on its Latin American website last June:

… One of Dell’s main features is the possibility of configuring computers by adding, removing or upgrading components. On 27 June 2008, this feature went wrong, and started subtracting money for an upgrade instead of adding it. … Apparently, some people in Chile found the mistake, and this being the Web 2.0 universe, left messages in Facebook and blogs advertising the gaffe, .. This resulted in an astounding 66 … times increase in sales in that day for Chile, and apparently thousands attempted to get the exploit (unofficially, 15 thousand laptops!). Needless to say, Dell did not fulfil the orders, and offered the affected customers a 15% discount in future sells. …

…

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