Being a thorn in the side of pseudoscience

The Advertising Standards Authority provides an accessible platform for members of the public to take on the merchants of woo. This article is based on a presentation to the 2012 NZ Skeptics Conference.

In Bad Pharma, Ben Goldacre describes marketing as existing "for no reason other than to pervert evidence-based decision making…". I am in complete agreement. Marketing and advertising now thoroughly permeate our society, using various psychological ploys to encourage us to buy whatever they are selling. However, there are limits to how extravagant or manipulative advertisements can be, and these are outlined in the rules of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

However, for the ASA to act on an infringing advertisement a complaint must first be laid. Fortunately this is fairly easy to do.

Laying a Complaint - the Process

Laying an ASA complaint can take as little as 15 minutes and the process can be completed online via the ASA website (>www.asa.co.nz/complaint_form.php). You must include your contact details, identify the advertisement you think has breached ASA standards and then outline the details of your complaint. There is also the facility to attach a picture or screenshot (if it is web-based) of the advertisement, which I would recommend doing where possible.

A week or two after submitting the complaint you will receive a letter from the ASA which will state whether they consider your complaint reasonable and within their jurisdiction. If it is, they then notify the advertiser of your complaint, requesting a response.

Once the advertiser has provided a response, the Advertising Standards Complaints Board (ASCB) will then consider the arguments provided by both the complainant and the advertiser. If at this point the advertiser agrees to address the issues criticised by the complainant, the complaint is deemed settled. If the ASCB considers there has been a breach, the complaint is upheld and the advertiser is directed to correct or remove the advertisement. If the advertiser is able to show the board there is no breach the complaint is not upheld.

Once a decision has been made, details of the full decision are released, and are readily accessible on the ASA website. Such decisions are worth reading to help understand what makes a good complaint and what doesn't. If you lay a complaint you will also receive a full copy of the complaint, including the response of the advertiser which can be most revealing.

Laying a Successful Complaint - Tips and Tricks

At the time of writing I have had seven of my ASA complaints settled and seven upheld out of a total of 14 submitted complaints. This success is the result of a carefully thought-out approach in laying my complaints which includes:

Having a good understanding of ASA advertising principles and rules (see discussion below);

Presenting my complaints in a neutral and friendly tone;

Clearly and concisely outlining where I think the advertisement breaches ASA principles;

Providing evidence to support my complaint and/or challenge the content of the advertisement;

Anticipating and addressing possible responses by the advertiser;

Explaining basic science where relevant (ASCB members are intelligent people but do not necessarily have a scientific background);

Not being too pedantic or petty in laying complaints - pointing out spelling mistakes and poor grammar is unlikely to enhance your complaint (unless it is relevant, eg misspelling or misuse of scientific terminology).

One key point to remember is that the complainant is usually in a strong position. It is not up to us to attempt to disprove the claims an advertisement has made - it is up to them to provide evidence that what they have said is true.

ASA Principles and Rules

My complaints to the ASA have been against various pseudoscientific health treatments and products, and hence have focused on specific ASA principles and rules in the ASA codes associated with the therapeutics products and services (see below). For those interested in challenging other types of products or services all of the ASA codes are readily accessible via the ASA website and well worth reading if you intend to lay a complaint.

Principle 2

Advertisements must be truthful, balanced and not misleading. Claims must be valid and have been substantiated.

Note that claims must be substantiated. If you believe an advertisement is making a dubious claim which they can't provide evidence for, then challenge them on it.

Requirement 4_

Advertisements must not directly nor by implication, omission, ambiguity, exaggerated claim or comparison:

(a) mislead or deceive, or be likely to mislead or deceive; or

(b) abuse trust, or exploit lack of knowledge; or

(c) exploit the superstitious or, without justifiable reason, play on fear or cause distress._

Pseudoscientific products often use science terminology inappropriately and incorrectly, which provides grounds to challenge them as "exploiting lack of knowledge". Such products may also play on unfounded fears of disease, allowing them to be challenged using section (c).

Requirement 4.1_

An advertisement must not:

(i) contain any claim, statement or implication that the products are safe or that their use cannot cause harm or that they have no side effects or risks associated with use;

(ii) contain any claim, statement or implication that the product is effective in all cases of a condition;

(iii) contain any claim, statement or implication that it is infallible, unfailing, magical, miraculous, or that it is a certain, guaranteed or sure cure;

(iv) contain any matter which is likely to lead persons to believe that they are suffering from a serious ailment, or harmful consequences may result from the therapeutic product not being used._

Pseudoscientific services and products may make several claims which contravene the requirements listed above. A good complaint will outline each and every breach.

The ASA codes specify how scientific information may be used. Sellers of pseudoscience often use scientific terminology inappropriately providing more evidence for a complaint:

Scientific information within an advertisement must be presented in an accurate manner.

Scientific terminology must be appropriate, clearly communicated and able to be readily understood by the audience to whom it is directed.

Publication of research results in an advertisement must identify the researcher and the financial sponsor of the research.

Responses from Advertisers

The responses from advertisers to the ASA can be quite varied. Large companies with many products may simply settle the complaint. Other responses may include:

Personal attacks, or questioning the motivation and expertise of the complainant. Some will do a Google search on the complainant to find out your background;

Providing 'evidence' in the form of magazine articles, quoting unqualified 'experts' and using anecdotes;

Criticising conventional medicine;

Making excuses - eg mistakes were made in translating foreign literature, or by the typist;

Petulance and additional erroneous comments (eg. refusing to acknowledge the authority of the ASA).

However, as these responses come via the ASA they can be readily ignored as the product of ignorance. Sometimes they are even quite amusing!

Why you should lay a complaint

Purveyors of pseudoscience use advertising to spread their message and attract new customers. By challenging them through the ASA not only do we limit what they can say in their advertisements, we also remind them that we are watching them. Successful complaints often carry a cost for the advertiser. This may involve having their advertising material removed or redesigned, making them think more carefully before they prepare a new advertisement. And all this can be done in less than half an hour.