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Giles Crown, Oliver Bray and Rupert Earle, Advertising Law and Regulation

Advertising is a major and, by design, influential force in developed economies: it drives consumer purchases, finances media goods and services, influences political preferences, and entertains us with its striking imagery or playful ideas. Advertising is also one of the ‘creative industries’, exploiting in the past the skills of artists such as René Magritte, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol. But not only is advertising ubiquitous, sprayed onto the sides of vehicles, posted in public parks, ‘placed’ in films and television programmes, even featuring in virtual worlds, it is also increasingly insidious. The friends you chat with on social networking sites may be paid for mentioning particular goods or services, while those favourable online consumer reviews you read when thinking where to book your holiday or which restaurant to visit could be genuine endorsements but they could equally be covert advertisements posted by the companies involved; a practice known as ‘shilling’, possibly from the word ‘shillaber’, referring to carnival or circus workers posing as members of the public to attract interest in their shows. Moreover, many individuals have little understanding of how information on their personal preferences or purchases is collected and processed to shape their future commercial exposure. The line between commercial and non-commercial transactions is thus becoming increasingly blurred. Given, on the one hand, the importance of the advertising industry to the UK economy, forecast to be worth around £12 billion this year, and, on the other, the individual or social damage that can be caused by misleading or harmful advertising— advertising of financial services and children’s food spring to mind here—it is surprising that there are so few books on UK advertising law on the market. There are of course exceptions, such as Sallie Spilsbury’s Guide to Advertising and Sales Promotion Law,1 but the subject is more often covered as a discrete chapter in books on media or commercial law, or addressed with a specific aspect of advertising law in mind, as in Ansgar Ohly and Michael Spence’s comparative study, The Law of Comparative Advertising.2 The second edition of Advertising Law and Regulation is thus a particularly valuable addition to a limited market. Billed as a ‘complete re-write’ of the earlier 1998 version, it is stated to be up to date to June 2010, though the authors have managed to include a number of subsequent legal developments. The first edition was written solely by Giles Crown, but the book is now co-authored with Oliver Bray and Rupert Earle, all partners in their respective law firms with extensive experience in the field. Further contributions are noted from a range of practitioners and experts in relation to specific chapters. The book can probably best be described as a cross between an encyclopaedia and a ‘bible’ for those working in the advertising field. It focuses on the law of England and 162 Journal of Media Law