ASAS sees 39% rise in ad feedback driven by telcos

ASAS said it received 432 pieces of feedback in 2024, up 39% from 2023.

The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) saw a sharp rise in consumer feedback on advertising last year, with the telecommunications sector drawing the most complaints.

In its latest report, ASAS said it received 432 pieces of feedback in 2024, up 39% from 2023. The telecommunications industry alone accounted for 53 complaints—more than triple the 17 it received the previous year.

The spike was largely driven by backlash against a telco brand campaign featuring a social media video of a mother passively watching a racy scene with her child. Whilst ASAS ruled that the ad did not violate the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP), it advised the telco to restrict such content from being accessible to children.

Other recurring complaints involved potentially misleading claims about promotional offers, service speeds, and roaming benefits. These included unclear terms around free or discounted services, mobile phone trade-ins, and whether overseas roaming was truly free or auto-activated.

ASAS reminded advertisers that key conditions affecting consumers’ understanding of offers must be clearly stated in the ad copy, not just buried in fine print. Advertisers unsure of compliance can use ASAS’s pre-publication advice service to avoid breaches.