Q4 2024: a visual guide to ASA rulings

Have a look at our latest advertising infographics summarising key aspects of ASA decisions for the quarter (for the period 17 August to 16 November 2024).

In Q4 2024, the ASA published 74 rulings of which 96% were upheld, which is an uplift on both aspects from Q3 (66 rulings with 91% upheld) and Q2 (59 rulings with 85% upheld). There were 177 complaints in Q4, which is significantly lower than in previous quarters, but this reflects the fact that there were fewer single rulings with a large number of complaints. The most common type of complainant was consumers, closely followed by the ASA. In Q4, the proportion of complaints made by the ASA only was 36% (compared to 35% in Q3 and 15% in Q2), which demonstrates a trend that the ASA is proactively investigating more ads (especially those not simultaneously complained about by consumers) leading to a ruling.

Headlines

• No. of rulings: 74

• No. of complaints (leading to a ruling*): 177

• Average no. of complaints per ruling: 2.4

• Average no. of days between publication of ad and ruling: 179

Most complained about

• JD Sports Fashion plc (28 August 2024): 61 complaints.

• The Boots Company plc (30 October 2024): 18 complaints.

Outcome of rulings

Type of complainant (%)

Topic (no.)

In order of most common, the 'Other' category includes the following topics: Cosmetic surgery and procedures; Claims, endorsements and testimonials; Property sales and lettings; Promotions and competitions; Appliances, electronics and machinery; Sports, leisure and hobbies; Gender, sex and relationships; Charity, education and Third sector. There may be multiple topics per ruling.

Issue (no.)

There may be multiple issues per ruling.

*An additional 127 complaints were informally resolved but, as details are not published, these are not included in any of our figures.