ASA Reveals Increase in Influencer Ad Complaints, Whilst IMTB Shares Plans to Protect Consumers

The ASA’s Annual Report 2022 has been published, including a huge increase in complaints against influencer ads.

The report breaks down the cases and complaints received by the ASA in 2022. There were 5,318 complaints made against influencer marketing ads in the last year, an increase of 9%.

Furthermore, there were 4,044 cases against influencer marketing ads, which is up 11% on 2021 figures and accounts for one-quarter of all online cases. The ASA also banned or forced brands to amend 31,227 ads in 2022, more than double the amount in 2021 (53%).

Many people made complaints to the ASA over influencer posts that were improperly labelled as ads. The increase follows the ASA’s proactive crackdown on influencers in its public ‘name and shame’ list, which was introduced alongside its updated ‘Influencer’s guide’.