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Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 405387 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract Advertising expenditure has risen globally and in Australia there has been a 2.7fold increase in the last ten years. It is suggested that some advertisements may bè`u nacceptable'', that is, unfair, misleading, deceptive, offensive, false or socially irresponsible. This research is concerned with consumer behaviour and consumer complaint behaviour specifically in the area of advertising in Australia. The findings indicate that complainants are significantly different from the population at large. This research will afford the regulatory bodies a better understanding of the complaining public as well as educating marketing communications strategists in effectively reaching their target markets.

As the most visible element of the marketing communications mix advertising has had its critics over the years and developed countries usually opt for a self‐regulatory approach to deal with unacceptable advertising. The recent breakdown of one of the world’s longest established advertising self‐regulatory programs in Australia has reopened the 20 year‐old debate that has taken place in the leading academic and business journals concerned with improving the effectiveness of such regulatory systems. One of the key changes in this area is the increasing dominance of the rival advertisers in the complaints process. This article presents a model of effective advertising self‐regulation and reports on the key findings of an Australian study. The empirical work, utilising a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques, succeeds in making both a practical and theoretical contribution to this important area.