Media

Maisie McCabe, Media Week, 20 May 2009, 11:30am

Shahriar Coupal promoted to new regulatory role at the ASA

LONDON - The Advertising Standards Authority has promoted manager Shahriar Coupal to secretary to the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), the bodies responsible for writing and enforcing the UK Advertising Standards Codes.

Shahriar Coupal: joined ASA in 2005

He has also been appointed director of advertising policy and practice of theASA, replacing Roger Wisbey who retired this month after 14 years.

Coupal will be responsible for ensuring the CAP and BCAP committees run properly and will direct the ad industry's self-regulatory system's monitoring, compliance, code policy and copy advice functions.

As manager of the CAP and BCAP code policy team, Coupal coordinated the review of the UK ad codes, which is currently open for public consultation. He joined the ASA from Ofcom in 2005.

Andrew Brown, chairman of CAP and BCAP, said Coupal led from the front during the code review, where his professionalism, commitment and expertise were crucial to the whole process.

Last month, a review from the CAP and BCAP suggested the four ad codes used to regulate the UK's broadcast media should be consolidated into one and should include an overarching social responsibility rule for the first time.

Under the new code, the ASA would have the flexibility to clamp down on all forms of irresponsible advertising in broadcast media, as it already has with non-broadcast ads.