Media and Analysts. British Board of Film Classification. ASA. Phones 4U ad rings up most complaints of 2011. The Phones 4U ad attracted 659 complaints to the ASA A commercial for the mobile phone company Phones 4u featuring a ghost-like child was the most-complained about advertisement last year. The latest Advertising Standards Authority figures show a sharp increase in complaints in 2011, up 25% over the previous year to a record 31,458. The Phones 4u campaign, which took inspiration from horror films such as The Ring, prompted 659 complaints. In second place was a Littlewoods TV ad, which garnered 585 complaints for disclosing that Father Christmas does not bring presents.
Top 10 most complained-about ads. Internet set to overtake TV as most complained-about ad medium. The internet is on the brink of overtaking television as the most complained-about advertising medium in the UK, with the ad regulator recording a surge of almost 300% in the number of consumers registering concerns over digital campaigns to more than 10,000 last year.
The Advertising Standards Authority – the body responsible for investigating consumer complaints into advertising content – said that overall there was a 25% year-on-year increase in the total number of complaints about all UK advertising in 2011 to a record 31,458. However, the biggest area of growth in complaints was the internet, with a 282% surge in the number received about online advertising campaigns between 2010 and 2011, rising to 10,123. What we regulate. Ofcom. BARB.