Are you tired of bad outdoor advertising?
July 4, 2011
“It’s time to reclaim our public space.” That’s the message of the report tabled today by a Federal Parliamentary Committee considering community attitudes to billboard and outdoor advertising.
Dr Sharman Stone, Federal Member for Murray and a member of the committee said that the inquiry recommended that because you cannot avoid billboards, or places like the sides of buses and signs on buildings, a separate code of practice should be developed to reflect the unique characteristics of outdoor advertising.
“There were 2000 complaints about advertising last year and 437 were about outdoor ads. Of those nearly 17% were found to be in breach of the Advertising Standards Board. Unfortunately there are no sanctions for ads which offend community standards, other than naming and shaming in an annual report”, Sharman Stone said.
“We need to ensure that outdoor advertising is not offensive or promoting poor health messages, particularly, near schools or sporting venues.
“Outdoor public advertising is in front of all members of the community—men, women and children—and the right to enjoy the outdoors should not be spoiled by an advertiser using messages or images you would prefer you or your children did not have to see.
The Committee made 19 recommendations for improving and strengthening the self-regulatory system, including regular review by the Government and a shift to regulation if advertisers do not behave responsibly voluntarily.
“The advertising industry knows that outdoor advertising is highly effective, but this method of reaching consumers needs to be balanced with people’s expectations of what is acceptable in our public spaces.
“If some people don’t like an ad they see on TV or in a magazine they can choose not to look at it. This is not the case with outdoor advertising,” Sharman Stone said.
Complaints about outdoor advertising can be made to the Advertising Standards Board at the website www.adstandards.com.au, or you can write to Advertising Standards Bureau, Level 2, 97 Northbourne Ave, Turner, ACT 2612.
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