Analysis: ASA takes charge over viral ads

commercial email and fall under the code's guidelines. The criteria for
judging whether a brand is actively encouraging content to be forwarded
is under heavy discussion, but won't necessarily just centre on whether
there is a 'forward to a friend' option.

However, Donna Mitchell, spokesperson for the ASA, says: "We don't want
it to be the case that when people copy text and web content, and then
forward it on, people complain about it."

The viral industry has criticised the proposed guidelines as a badly
thought-out, knee-jerk reaction to campaigns like the suicide bomber
exploding in a VW ad, which was produced by two creatives, they said,
for their show reel. But, some argue the ASA is coming close to
overstepping the mark.

Justin Kirby, co-founder of the Viral & Buzz Marketing Association,
says: "Some would say that their proposed legislation is an attempt by
the ASA to extend their remit on unpaid-for media via the back door." He
adds that the guidelines would mean policing what people say to their
friends, which is impossible. "Who's next? Bloggers?"

But, the ASA argues that, since the code must adapt to changes in the
market and reflect changes in technology, it is relevant to take
responsibility for viral marketing.

It is undergoing heavy discussions to fine-tune the guidelines to clear
up the grey area between what content is considered to be viral and what
will remain editorial. However, the viral industry is contesting the
process by which the ASA is realigning its conclusions.

Viral code

Toni Smith, head of PR at Lycos Europe, which hosts the Lycos viral
charts, believes: "The guide-lines have been put in place by people who
don't understand the internet."

A number of agencies have signed a statement about a viral code of
practice from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, but Smith
says it has failed to win the support of many viral marketers.

Kirby says he was refused the opportunity to offer feedback on
regulation when he approached the ASA early in 2005. He complains that
the vast majority of viral marketers do not belong to associations that
sit on the CAP Code committee. The ASA, however, denies that it turned
Kirby away but felt that the view of viral marketers was adequately
represented by the Internet Advertising Bureau, which has members on the
committee.

The effectiveness of any guidelines from the ASA has also been
questioned.

Once virals are seeded they can't be recalled or banned like a poster
ad. By adding notoriety to an ad campaign, the ASA may add fuel to the
fire.

Peter Brown, founder of viral site BoreMe.com, says brands impose their
own guidelines anyway because virals will be associated with the brand
and they will only be successful if they are good enough to forward.
"Virals don't go away. Your core message is going to be on the net
forever. Brands have moved away from explicit content and are playing it
safe."

There has been a move towards interactivity and humour anyway, he
says.

Renault ran a viral ad last year, which showed a girl exposing her
breasts to a driver on a race circuit, who subsequently crashed.

But John Sinke, manager of internet marketing at Renault, said the
guidelines would help the medium take a more sophisticated approach.
"Guidelines will make it more challenging to be creative, rather than
being explicit or rude to get stand-out."

Avanti Screenmedia Group, has developed an ad showing a middle-aged
woman squatting over a man to promote Fat Cat Kit's plasma and LCD TVs
with the strapline 'Why watch crap?'.

Common sense

Stuart Gill, executive creative director at the firm, points out that
advertising creatives have been used to working with "the most ludicrous
guidelines" anyway. "As long as the guidelines remain grounded in
practicality and common sense, it's not a bad thing," he argues.

There is dispute over whether the ASA can govern a medium that is
essentially based on one-to-one communications.

Smith says virals are sent from people to their friends who can choose
whether or not they want to open them. She suggests that warnings should
be put in place and then people can choose to open viral
advertisements.

"There's no point in killing off the viral market," she says.

While the digital industry says brands should not allow content intended
for one target market to reach another, this can be difficult to control
online.

It is possible to show racy TV ads late at night or an 18 rating at the
cinema to exclude children, but the ASA argues that although people can
choose what they open online, those forwarding content can never
completely control who ultimately sees the ad.

However, there is also the argument that editorial content on TV can be
just as explicit.

Gill thinks there should be a more flexible approach to allowing ads
with stronger content to be shown in the ad breaks during Little
Britain, for example, and similar common sense should be applied to the
internet. "The ASA gets things slightly wrong. It doesn't always take a
practical approach."

It could also be hard to enforce guidelines as brands may disassociate
themselves from viral advertising. For example, regulation may lead to
viral campaigns outsourced to territories outside the ASA's
jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, most viral ads run on underground forums or via
third-parties.

The ASA warns that it will work with similar bodies across Europe to
track offensive viral campaigns at their source.

But, ASA spokesperson Matt Wilson added: "We may not be able to stop an
ad once it has gone out, but we can prevent that brand doing something
similar again."