Task 1 - Regulatory Bodies

Part 1

1. OfCom regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. 
2. The ways in which OfCom regulate advertising is by that people in the UK get the best from their communications services and are protected from scams and sharp practices.
3. ASA stands for; Advertising Standards Authority - They are also another regulation society however this particular company are independent and the only regulator of advertising across all media.
4. What the ASA and are responsible for is acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.
5. The CAP code are the legal rules for advertisers, agencies and media owners to follow. They include general rules which state advertising must be responsible, must not mislead, or offend. Specific rules which cover advertising for children, and ads for specific sectors like alcohol, gambling, motoring, health and financial products.

Part 2

The advert begins very innocent with a young girl and her father boarding a train, and two children no older than 12 lock eyes and smile; within a flash the whole scene changes to the young girl pole dancing on the trains holders. The music becomes provocative and the lights low; the meaning/ concept becomes clear at the end of the advert with the quote "Don't let your child be educated by TV!" Basically informing parents that they should not allow their child to be so wrapped up in watching T.V that it becomes their teacher in how they live their life. The conventions used within the advert, are the basic plot with the pack shot at the end; however in this case it is more a company sending a message advert whereby the audience learn/ gain something. In terms of the audience, it is clear that their target audience are couples- Couples who have children- predominately parents.  

The issues which this particular advert raises is the core fact that a girl younger than 18 has been sexualised in such a manner; which causes disturbance within parents as well as other audiences. The actual content within the advert would be considered explicit content, as the young girl is in fact pole dancing which is something that is frowned upon as a whole  but to see a girl of below 12 to take part in such an action is shocking as well as disturbing.

The ASA state "We will not hesitate to ban any ad that could result in a child’s physical, mental or moral harm. Fortunately, the majority of advertisers are committed to preparing ads in a socially responsible way and working with us to get their ads right."

What we found contradictory about the advertisement is that it's based around minimising the amount of influence that T.V have upon children 'sexually' however the advert is so provocative that it defeats the purpose of actually removing a sexualised mindset and instead reinforcing it by having a child actually do it. Many parents found that the advert was over sexualised and in-appropriate for viewers.

The advert is actually a campaign running within Romania; "Don't Let Your Child Be Educated by TV" A social campaign is to raise the parents' awareness to the risk of allowing their children watch too much television without their supervision. - Social Advertising Romania