ASAS Introduction

The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) is an Advisory Council to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). It was set up in 1973 to promote ethical advertising in Singapore and is the self-regulatory body of the advertising industry.

Self-regulation means the responsibility of ensuring truthful advertising lies with both advertisers and consumers. This works in the interest of both advertisers and consumers because it ensures that through fair play, there is a balance of trust and responsibility between them. In the situation that an investigation into a misleading ad uncovers an unfair business practice, ASAS may refer the matter to CASE for action to be taken under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.

The ASAS Council

ASAS Council comprises representatives from advertisers, advertising agencies, government agencies, media owners and other supporting organisations. CASE provides secretarial support for ASAS.

See here for the council list

What ASAS does

Provides advice and guidance when advertisers, advertising agencies and media owners are in doubt over the acceptability of advertisements – particularly before publication. However, ASAS is not intended to be a clearing-house for the approval of all advertising.
Handles complaints about advertising practices. ASAS is able to rule on disputes between members of the Singapore Advertisers Association, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Advertising Media Owners’ Association of Singapore and the Association of Broadcasters.
Advises on any advertisement prepared and/or published by persons or companies outside the four Associations, provided that it is brought to the attention of ASAS in accordance with the procedure of lodging a complaint.
Issues sanctions:
- Withholding advertising space or time from advertisers, and withdrawal of the trading privileges from advertising agencies. Both these sanctions are applied by the media owners.
- Adverse publicity. ASAS has the option of publishing details of the outcome of the investigations, ie. naming those who may have offended against the code. This is particularly so for recalcitrant offenders.

ASAS Council
The Council comprises representatives from the following organisations and associations:

Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore
Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore, The (4As)
Association of Broadcasters (Singapore)
Association of Media Owners (Singapore) (AMOS)
Consumers Association of Singapore
Direct Marketing Association of Singapore
Health Sciences Authority
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Media Development Authority
MediaCorp Pte Ltd
Ministry of Health
Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore
Singapore Advertisers Association, The (2As)
Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries
Singapore Medical Association
Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Chairperson: Associate Professor Eleanor Wong