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| UK Border agency van: facing the facts | UK Border agency van: facing the facts |
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| When promotional vans started appearing in certain boroughs of east and north London in July with the instruction to illegal immigrants to "Go home or face arrest", several reactions were noted in the offices of the Advertising Standards Authority and of Promogroup, the company that owned the vans. At the ASA, 224 complaints were received, the majority of which focused on the offensiveness of the phrase "go home", and its capacity to incite racial hatred or exacerbate tension in multicultural communities. At Promogroup, a handful of phone calls were also received in error (the company's number is displayed on its vans), from illegal immigrants wanting help with their paperwork. | When promotional vans started appearing in certain boroughs of east and north London in July with the instruction to illegal immigrants to "Go home or face arrest", several reactions were noted in the offices of the Advertising Standards Authority and of Promogroup, the company that owned the vans. At the ASA, 224 complaints were received, the majority of which focused on the offensiveness of the phrase "go home", and its capacity to incite racial hatred or exacerbate tension in multicultural communities. At Promogroup, a handful of phone calls were also received in error (the company's number is displayed on its vans), from illegal immigrants wanting help with their paperwork. |
| It has taken nearly two months for the ASA to conclude its investigation, upholding some of the complaints against the government. Who knows what has happened in that time to the men and women who called Promogroup or texted the government service number, wanting to get home. But the language of the ASA's adjudication is confusing. It finds that the advert was "distasteful" to some, but not, overall, offensive. Instead, the body upheld complaints on the grounds that the "106 arrests last week in your area" cited on the vans were inaccurate. The vans drove through many boroughs: Barking, Barnet, Brent, Ealing and Harlow, among others, and that statistic could not be true in all. The small type on the van to explain this was too small, says the ASA - and presumably travelling at around 30mph. | |
| "They have found against it on a technicality," says Ian Twinn, director of public affairs at ISBA, the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers "It's almost a judgment of Solomon. 'We know there's something that's not right. We can't say it's offensive.' It's a wise decision based on a contentious and very difficult case." | "They have found against it on a technicality," says Ian Twinn, director of public affairs at ISBA, the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers "It's almost a judgment of Solomon. 'We know there's something that's not right. We can't say it's offensive.' It's a wise decision based on a contentious and very difficult case." |
| In fact, the ASA has a history of upholding complaints against government campaigns –the "Bedtime Story" TV adverts warning of climate change in March 2010, for instance, or an anti-smoking advert from April 2009, which began with a child saying, "I'm not scared of the dark" and concluded with the same voice "I'm scared of my Mum smoking. I'm scared that my mum will die." | In fact, the ASA has a history of upholding complaints against government campaigns –the "Bedtime Story" TV adverts warning of climate change in March 2010, for instance, or an anti-smoking advert from April 2009, which began with a child saying, "I'm not scared of the dark" and concluded with the same voice "I'm scared of my Mum smoking. I'm scared that my mum will die." |
| "If the government are going to go into advertising then they must expect to play by advertising rules, and advertising rules require a level of consistency with the known facts," says Steve Hewlett, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Media Show. "The rules of commercial advertising are not the same as the rules of politics. You are not allowed to make misleading claims." Hewlett thinks the ASA has been "remarkably effective. It's a classic piece of coregulation. The ASA is entirely a self-regulator but it has some statutory powers." Some find it slow. | "If the government are going to go into advertising then they must expect to play by advertising rules, and advertising rules require a level of consistency with the known facts," says Steve Hewlett, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Media Show. "The rules of commercial advertising are not the same as the rules of politics. You are not allowed to make misleading claims." Hewlett thinks the ASA has been "remarkably effective. It's a classic piece of coregulation. The ASA is entirely a self-regulator but it has some statutory powers." Some find it slow. |
| So what of the people who had to drive the vans around? "We're not normally involved in such a political hot potato," says Promogroup's business development manager, who wants to remain nameless. "The standard thing for us is retail. Shop openings. Refurbs. We prefer boring." He says the van drivers reported no abuse, just the odd cheer. The Home Office booked two vehicles for a week each at a cost of £350 a day plus VAT. The maths is straightforward, the campaign was cheap. | So what of the people who had to drive the vans around? "We're not normally involved in such a political hot potato," says Promogroup's business development manager, who wants to remain nameless. "The standard thing for us is retail. Shop openings. Refurbs. We prefer boring." He says the van drivers reported no abuse, just the odd cheer. The Home Office booked two vehicles for a week each at a cost of £350 a day plus VAT. The maths is straightforward, the campaign was cheap. |
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