Basic HTML Version
94
OUR ADVERTISING
Autocontrol is a not-for-profit association with over 430 members. It is made up of the leading Adver tisers,
Adver tising Agencies, Media and professional Associations relating to the adver tising business in Spain. Its
task is to manage the Spanish adver tising self-regulation system and it belongs to the European Adver tising
Standards Alliance (hereinafter EASA), a supranational organization which includes all the Spanish adver tising
self-regulation bodies.
Autocontrol is entrusted with the management of the Spanish television adver tising co-regulation system,
based on the agreement signed by television operators, the Asociación Española de Anunciantes (hereinafter
AEA) and Autocontrol, and based also on the agreement signed by Autocontrol with the State audio-
visual authority (hereinafter SETSI). This system allows for cooperation in the preventative detection and
penalization of unlawful television adver tising, one of its aims being to ensure that adver tising legislation and
adver tising codes of ethics are correctly applied and adhered to.
Three main instruments are used by Autocontrol in its management of the commercial communication self-
regulation system: a Code of Conduct, and independent Adver tising Jury whose task is to handle possible
controversies arising and complaints presented against adver tisements which have been broadcast, and a
technical committee which provides legal advice prior to the broadcasting of adver tisements through its
prior consultation or
Copy Advice
procedure.This service provides advice on the ethical and legal propriety of
adver tising campaigns prior to broadcasting.
In the case of prior consultations, Publiespaña requests
a prior ethical and legal repor t from the Autocontrol
Technical Unit and accepts its decision. If the
recommendation made is that the adver tisement should
not be broadcast, then the campaign is cancelled.
In 2011, Publiespaña requested 287 Copy Advices
on adver tising campaigns prior to broadcasting, and
presented 47 legal consultations in relation to adver tising.
Copy Advice consultations were presented in relation
to the following sectors: food, snacks, safety devices,
alcoholic drinks, energy drinks, beauty and hygiene,
children’s footwear, beauty salons, dental clinics, food
supplements, cinema, electronic cigarettes, contacts,
diaries, downloads to mobile phones, medicines, toys,
condoms, perfumes and eaux de Cologne, catering and
videogames.
Consultations submitted for which the corresponding
decision was carried into effect related to: micro-slots
for the adver tising of videogames, the adver tising of
alcoholic drinks on screens in Shopping Centres, the
approval and implementation of the Gaming Regulation
Law, alcoholic drinks (beers with less than 1º alcohol) or
the requirements for sponsorship by medicinal products.
On the other hand, in 2011 Publiespaña received a
single complaint which was referred to the Autocontrol
Adver tising Jury, regarding a “promo” produced by
Telecinco to announce the fact that it was the leader in
audience figures for news programmes for the month
of January 2011; this complaint was rejected by the Jury.
The rules set out in General Audio-visual
Communications Law (Law 7/2010 of 31 March
2010) for which compliance is verified include,
most notably, the following:
a) The prevention and eradication of gender-
based discrimination in favor of effective equality
between men and women (Ar ticle 4).
b) The obligations incumbent upon providers
of audiovisual communication in relation to
children (Ar ticle 7); this refers to content which
could be damaging to the physical, mental or
moral development of children and can only be
broadcast between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.