Performance in 2007
We expect all advertising and marketing produced by WPP companies to comply with the law and applicable marketing regulations. However, a very small number of campaigns do give rise to complaint.
The table below shows the infringements identified in public reports by regulatory authorities in Brazil, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and the UK. In future, we aim to obtain this information directly from WPP businesses through our financial reporting system.
Complaints upheld by global advertising regulatory organisations 2007
| WPP company |
Country | Regulatory organisations | Type | Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohn & Wolfe | UK | ASA | Toothpaste advert breached rules forbidding endorsement of products by healthcare professionals | |
| Grey | India | The Advertising Standards Council of India | Broadcast | Advert was judged to include a motorbike rider driving dangerously without justifiable reason |
| JWT | India | The Advertising Standards Council of India | n/a | Advert included a dangerous act which could be copied by inexperienced motorcycle riders |
| JWT | India | The Advertising Standards Council of India | n/a | Advert showed a dangerous act which could be copied by young people |
| JWT | South Africa | ASA | Advert showed vehicle parked on the pavement which could promote bad driving | |
| JWT | UK | ASA | Broadcast and print | A mascara advert was judged to be misleading as it featured a model wearing false eyelashes |
| JWT | UK | ASA | Broadcast | Advert implied that a product contains extra protein and fibre when it actually contained less than the original product |
| JWT | UK | ASA | Broadcast | TV adverts judged to include offensive and stereotypical portrayals of Caribbean people |
| Ogilvy & Mather | Brazil | CONAR Ethics Council Chamber |
Broadcast | Advert implied intolerance towards another race which could be viewed as offensive |
| Ogilvy & Mather | India | The Advertising Standards Council of India | Broadcast | Advert was judged to be inappropriate for viewing by children |
| Ogilvy & Mather | Philippines | ADBOARD | Point of sale materials | Banned slogan used on point of sale materials |
| Ogilvy & Mather | Philippines | ADBOARD | Billboard | Billboard showed partial frontal nudity |
| Ogilvy & Mather | UK | ASA | Broadcast | Advert misleadingly implied that a product was linked to a particular film, which could make it more attractive to some viewers |
| Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R | UK | ASA | Broadcast/ |
Advert implied that the product was cheaper than a direct competitor when this was not the case |
| Sudler & Hennessey | New Zealand | The New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority | A medical claim that a product gives total control of asthma was judged to be misleading | |
| Y&R | New Zealand | Advertising Standards Complaints Board (NZ) | Broadcast | A food advert was judged to breach the Advertising Standards Complaints Board’s Code of Ethics |
ASA = Advertising Standards Authority