The ASC, as a matter of policy, encourages resolution of advertising issues and concerns by the practitioners themselves and should provide ways by which contending parties could settle or resolve disputes and concerns among themselves. When mediation fails, a case may be brought to the ASC for review and resolution.
Types of Complaint
Basically, there are two (2) types of complaint involving ad content that may be filed with the ASC:
1. Complaint filed by a competitor (direct or indirect)
Complaints filed by a competitor will be subject for review of a 5-man Hearing Panel. The Panel is composed of industry volunteers coming from the 3 advertising sectors: the Advertiser, the Advertising Agency and the Media.
2. Complaint filed by a government sector, professional organizations, individual consumer or consumer groups or the public in general
Complaints received from such parties will be evaluated by the ASC Executive Director, ASC Legal Counsel and one (1) member of the ExCom and who shall recommend action to the ASC Board.
Only a “Party-in-Interest” may file a complaint against an advertisement that has been approved by the ASC and that is already on-air/published/displayed. A “Party in-Interest” is one who has a real, actual, material or substantial interest in the subject of the complaint or one who has sustained or is in the immediate danger of sustaining an injury as a result of the act complained of such as a competitive brand, product, service, or categories, whether direct or indirect. A mere incidental interest in the act complained of cannot be ground for filing of complaint.