In a ruling published today, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a viewer’s complaint against ITV3. The channel was accused of airing “excessively noisy” adverts during a recent showing of “Sherlock Holmes”.

February 17, 2010 — The ASA has investigated a complaint by a viewer that eight adverts shown on ITV3 were “excessively noisy”, eventually deciding to uphold the complaint. At the same time, the adjudication acknowledged efforts on the part of ITV3 and other broadcasters to bring the volume of ad breaks to within levels consistent with surrounding programme material.

In this case, ITV3 responded to the complaint by explaining that the nature of the main programme meant ads seemed louder than they otherwise would: The early-1980s “Sherlock Holmes” series used what the broadcaster referred to as a considerably different style of production, in which short, loud interludes punctuated lengthy quiet scenes with little background music.

ITV3’s statement also detailed the broadcaster’s efforts to stay within compliant levels — they had used a loudness meter, for example, to check that no part of the adverts was louder than the programme’s peak volume level. Of course, therein lies the essential point: It’s entirely possible for something to seem louder, even if its peak volume level is the same.

This debate echoes a recent announcement by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in which the organisation announced forthcoming measurement guidelines for “perceived loudness” — with the aim of avoiding exactly this type of problem. In its assessment of the ITV3 broadcasts, the ASA said: “Whilst we recognised that commercial breaks sometimes occurred during especially quiet parts of a programme, we nevertheless concluded that the ads were excessively strident and breached the Code.”