APPENDIX 6
Memorandum from the Committee of Advertising
Practice
1. INTRODUCTION
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP)
is comprised of 19 trade associations, professional bodies and
companies that represent the marketing and media businesses. It
is the industry body responsible for creating, revising, advising
on and enforcing the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion
and Direct Marketing (the CAP Code) as endorsed and administered
by the independent Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The
CAP Code applies to all non-broadcast marketing communications
in the UK covering such media as print, posters, sales promotions,
direct marketing, SMS and internet pop-ups.
The ASA/CAP system is recognised by government,
the Courts and the Office of Fair Trading as the primary established
means for ensuring non-broadcast marketing communications are
"legal, decent, honest and truthful".
Further information about CAP and the ASA is
available on their respective websites, www.cap.org.uk and www.asa.org.uk.
We welcome the opportunity to contribute to
the Sub-Committee's Inquiry into local environmental crime. Although
the subject extends well beyond fly-posting, CAP limits its response
solely to this issue.
2. SUMMARY OF
POSITION
CAP considers fly-posting to be unacceptable.
It brings legitimate advertising into disrepute, devalues the
conventional outdoor advertising industry and undermines the rights
of commercial freedom of expression which law-abiding advertising
practitioners should enjoy. Because it is illegal, fly-posting
falls outside the CAP Code. Nevertheless, CAP has taken what action
it can to highlight the problem. In addition, CAP wishes to encourage
the efforts of enforcement authorities to tackle this illegal
practice and we congratulate the Sub-Committee for drawing attention
to the problem of fly-posting through its Inquiry into local environmental
crime.
3. SPECIFIC REMARKS
Fly-posting is the display of advertising material
on buildings and street furniture without the consent of their
owner. Although it appears to have emanated amongst small operators
seeking low cost methods of promoting their goods or services,
fly-posting is now an increasingly common component of marketing
campaigns by larger companies and agencies. If the adoption of
the practice by more established brands suggests a certain efficacy,
it in no way adds to its acceptability or legitimacy. Indeed,
fly-posting is in breach of planning law and is therefore an illegal
activity.
As the practice of fly-posting is in itself
unlawful, primary responsibility for tackling the issue must lie
with local planning enforcement authorities. Fly-posting amounts
to trespass and criminal damage and CAP wishes to see penalties
for this activity vigorously enforced. Councils, however, appear
reluctant to do so, in many cases only going so far as to issue
a warning. CAP sympathised with this when we understood the maximum
fine applicable to be £1,000 per poster. This has now risen
to £2,500.
We recognise that pursuing prosecutions involves
the use of scarce Council resources, but note that fly-posters
themselves will be readily identifiable. We consider that a limited
number of high profile actions against fly-posters, such as those
undertaken by Westminster City Council and Leeds City Council,
could act as a deterrent to others. We urge the Sub-Committee
to encourage more prosecutions by local planning authorities and
to recommend that Government provides more resources to local
Council's to assist them in their enforcement efforts.
Given fly-posting is illegal, the content of
these advertisements is not subject to the CAP Code—Clause
1.2 million specifically excluding it from the ASA's remit. This
exclusion notwithstanding, CAP takes most seriously the use of
fly-posting by any corporate members of its member organisations.
We believe it brings the practice of advertising as a whole into
disrepute, and undermines legitimate advertising by defacing existing
posters or poster sites.
By emphasising to its members the illegality
of fly-posting, CAP can play a role in tackling this problem.
Indeed, we have recognised this and acted on it. In November 2003
we issued a formal warning to all CAP-affiliated companies stressing
both the illegality of the practice and the likelihood of legal
action being pursued against fly-posters (Appendix A). We highlighted
to our membership that use of fly-posting in any part of a marketing
campaign will lead to automatic disqualification of a campaign
from all industry awards. We continue to reinforce this message
through the regular Update@CAP publication.
CAP awaits with great interest the Sub-Committee's
recommendations on how to tackle local environmental crime, and
specifically fly-posting. CAP shall be pleased to act as a conduit
for disseminating the Sub-Committee's conclusions to our member
organisations.
March 2004
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