Regulatory BodyHow is the ASA funded?

The ASA is funded by advertisers it guarantees the ASAs independence.

The ASA is adequately funded to keep UK advertising standards high. The
ASA also receive a small income from charging for some seminars and
premium industry advice services. The levy system means the ASA has
the necessary resources to handle more than 30,000 complaints each
year and independently check thousands of ads every year. The levy is
the only part of the system that is voluntary. Advertisers can choose to
pay the levy, but they cannot choose to comply with the Advertising
Codes or the ASAs rulings.
I have found this information from https://www.asa.org.uk/AboutASA/Funding.aspx
What exactly does the ASA do?
We apply the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of
Advertising Practice. Our work includes acting on complaints and
proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful
or offensive advertisements.
I found this out at https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Aboutregulation.aspx
How does self-regulation of non-broadcast advertising work?
Self-regulation means that the industry has voluntarily established and
paid for its own regulation. Advertisers have an interest in maintaining the
system because:
Making sure that consumers are not misled, harmed or offended by ads
helps to maintain consumer confidence in advertising. Advertising that is
welcomed by consumers is good for business. It maintains a level playing
field amongst businesses. It is important for fair competition that all
advertisers play by the same rules. Maintaining the self-regulatory system
is much more cost-effective for advertisers than paying the legal costs of
a court case. However, the industry does not administer its own rules. It
has established the ASA as the independent adjudicator.
The Code reflects requirements in law, but also contains many rules that
are not required by law at all. The advertising industry has chosen to
exercise this self-restraint not only to make further legislation
unnecessary, but also as a public demonstration of its commitment to
high standards in advertising. Because the system works successfully, the
UK Government has not needed to regulate directly.
I found this information at https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Aboutregulation/Self-regulation-of-non-broadcast-advertising.aspx

How does regulation work after an advertisement has appeared

and what sanctions can the ASA impose?
If they persistently run ads that breach the Codes, broadcasters risk being
referred by the ASA to Ofcom, which can impose fines and even withdraw
their licence to broadcast.
For broadcast sanctionsAlthough the obligation to comply with the Code rests with the
broadcaster, advertisers also suffer consequences if their broadcast ads
breach the Code. They can face bad publicity generated by an upheld
complaint to the ASA. Advertisers might also have wasted hundreds of
thousands of pounds making the banned advertisement in the first place
and lost the revenue that it might have generated. Because broadcasters
cannot show ads that breach the Code, advertisers might lose prime
advertising slots in which a banned ad has been booked to appear. Finally,
any advertisements that break the Code are disqualified from industry
awards, denying advertisers and the agencies that created the ads the
opportunity to showcase their work.
I found this information at https://www.asa.org.uk/Industryadvertisers/Sanctions/Broadcast.aspx
For non-broadcast sanctionsThe majority of sanctions for non-broadcast advertising are co-ordinated
through CAP, whose members are trade associations representing
advertisers, agencies and media. There are several CAP sanctions, which
can be employed in different circumstances:
Ad Alerts - CAP can issue alerts to its members, including the media,
advising them to withhold services such as access to advertising space.
Withdrawal of trading privileges - CAP members can revoke, withdraw
or temporarily withhold recognition and trading privileges. For example,
the Royal Mail can withdraw its bulk mail discount, which can make
running direct marketing campaigns prohibitively expensive.
Pre-vetting - Persistent or serious offenders can be required to have
their marketing material vetted before publication. For example, CAPs
poster industry members can invoke mandatory pre-vetting for advertisers
who have broken the CAP Code on grounds of taste and decency or social
responsibility the pre-vetting can last for two years.
Sanctions in the online space - CAP has further sanctions that can be
invoked to help ensure marketers claims on their own websites, or in
other non-paid-for space under their control, comply with the Codes.

Finally, any advertisements that break the Codes are disqualified from
industry awards, denying advertisers and the agencies that created the
ads the opportunity to showcase their work.
I found this information at https://www.asa.org.uk/Industryadvertisers/Sanctions/Non-broadcast.aspx
Online SanctionsCAP can ask internet search websites to remove a marketers paid-for
search advertisements when those advertisements link to a page on the
marketers website that hosts non-compliant marketing communications.
Marketers may face adverse publicity if they cannot or will not amend
non-compliant marketing communications on their own websites or in
other non-paid-for space online under their control. Their name and noncompliance may be featured on a dedicated section of the ASA website
and, if necessary, in an ASA advertisement appearing on an appropriate
page of an internet search website.
I found this information off https://www.asa.org.uk/Industryadvertisers/Sanctions/Online.aspx
Video-on-demand sanctionsThe ASAs designation by Ofcom of regulating Video-on-demand
advertising means that we have access to a sanction. Failure to comply
with the rules in the VOD Appendix may result in the matter being referred
to Ofcom with a view to Ofcom considering whether the media service
provider has contravened the relevant requirements of the Act.
I got this information off https://www.asa.org.uk/Industryadvertisers/Sanctions/Video-on-demand.aspx
ComplaintsBarnardos, 2008The ASA received 840 complaints about this Barnardos ad campaign,
which was designed to raise awareness of domestic child abuse.
The TV campaign featured repeated scenes of violence and drug-taking,
which many viewers found upsetting and not suitable for broadcast at
times when children were likely to be watching.
We did not doubt the distress or offence described by many of the
complainants. However, we considered the ads were appropriately
scheduled and their aim justified the use of strong imagery.
I found this at https://www.asa.org.uk/~/media/Files/ASA/Adcheck/Ad
%20Banks/Harmful/Harmful%20advertising.ashx
Tesco F&F

Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA considered that, in the context of an ad for a summer clothing
range, it was not inappropriate to feature the models in shorts, loose
fitting tops and swimwear. The woman's outfits were not particularly
revealing, other than the two-piece swimsuit, which exposed more of her
body than the other garments, but nonetheless there was no sexual
connotation attached to the item of clothing. The majority of the models
poses were traditional catwalk positions and others, such as the woman
rolling on the floor, were only mildly sexual in nature and unlikely to be
understood by children.
Although the lyrics of the song were open to mild sexual interpretation, we
considered that very young children would be unlikely to understand that
allusion and the song was not unsuitable for older children, many already
likely to be familiar with the song and its dance based lyrics. We
considered that the ad was neither sexually explicit nor suggestive, and
was unlikely to cause harm to children or to a more general audience. We
therefore concluded that the ad was suitable for broadcast before 9 pm.
We investigated the ads under BCAP Code rules 4.1 and 4.2 (Harm and
offence) and 32.3 (Scheduling), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary
I found this at https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2014/7/TescoStores-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_267799.aspx#.WElGULKLSUk