JEREMY MAGGS: Saving the standards
Advertising standards body ASA embarks on a cost-cutting and fund-raising drive to preserve self-regulation and avoid the cost of having to defend complaints through the courts
Under the leadership of new acting CEO Gail Schimmel, the beleaguered Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has raised R4m in emergency funding, which gives it a lifeline for the next few months.The organisation is in business rescue after falling into financial difficulty under the leadership of Schimmel’s predecessor, Thembi Msibi.Under a new cost-cutting regimen, 13 people have been retrenched and the body, which regulates advertising industry output, has given up the top floor of its plush Johannesburg offices and is looking for smaller premises.Only seven staff members remain, including four lawyers, who adjudicate and process complaints. Schimmel confirms that while the legal affairs side of the business is running smoothly, there have been far fewer complaints over the past few years due to a lack of public communication.Schimmel, who was head of legal affairs at the ASA 10 years ago, has managed to raise money from, among others, conglomerate Procter & Gamble and the Associa...
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