The number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland dropped last year.
The ASAI annual report for the year ended June 30th, 1998 shows 430 formal complaints were made about 342 advertisements, of which 47 were from competitors and the rest from the public.
A total of 142 complaints arising out of 89 advertisements were pursued, and 87 were upheld with advertisers required to amend, withdraw or not to repeat the advertisements. A further 58 complaints were investigated by RTE under a procedure agreed with ASAI.
The number of complaints received in 1997/98 showed a reduction of 66 on the 1996/97 figure. The highest number of complaints concerned advertisements about computers and telecommunications - in the previous year, the greatest number related to alcohol.
The report says the ASAI will keep the matter of newspaper advertisements for international telephone sex lines under review.
"Although it had not received formal complaints from consumers in respect of advertisements for these lines, the Complaints Committee of the ASAI instructed the Secretariat to remind certain newspapers that the code of advertising standards requires that all advertisements must be legal, decent, honest and truthful and should contain nothing likely to mislead, cause grave or widespread offence or cause moral harm to children.
"The ASAI was pleased to note an improvement in the content of such advertisements."