May 2021
Ad Standards News and Updates
A Word from Jani
President
We just completed our second virtual Annual General Meeting and would like to thank each and every board member for their commitment to advancing advertising self-regulation. I look forward to a productive year ahead together.
 
We encourage you to use our refreshed digital-friendly preclearance logo, which both helps build consumer trust and shows your support. We will be highlighting members’ usage in upcoming communications.
Canada is a proud board member on the International Council for Ad Self-Regulation (ICAS) and we just announced a charter to strengthen self-regulation globally (learn more below). This summer will bring some key self-regulatory organization (SRO) initiatives – more to come.

This past winter gave us an opportunity to host many virtual sessions with members, regulatory and agency partners – the upside of us all having to stay at home. We also participated in conferences across Canada, where in particular we highlighted our revised Influencer Guidelines and recent consumer panel research (more below).
 
Thank you to our existing and new members (highlighted below) for your support. Call anytime for a virtual coffee, it might be worth the amusement of seeing me caffeinated.
 
Summer is almost here and vaccines are on the horizon. I feel like a bear coming out of hibernation and marveling at the outside.

Take care from all of us at Ad Standards!
-Jani Yates, President & CEO, Ad Standards
Ad Standards Board of Directors
On April 29, 2021, at our Annual General Meeting (AGM), we elected our 2021/2022 Board of Directors. Click here to learn more. Meet our Board members:
Influencer Marketing Research
Ad Standards would like to thank Camille Kennedy and Caddle for sharing their consumer panel findings on Canadians’ awareness of influencer marketing, disclosure requirements, conversion, etc.

Highlights include:

  • Younger generations, especially Gen Z, are more likely to know more about influencer marketing than Boomers. However, there is a general lack of awareness of the disclosure guidelines and industry standards.
  • The majority of consumers believe that they should be made aware if a post is sponsored.
  • Consumers highly value transparency from advertisers, influencers and social media platforms. Consumers are more likely to trust influencers when they're transparent about their material connections.
 
We look forward to Caddle’s future influencer research to follow up on these topics and more including brand/influencer follower, preferred platforms and affiliate/DTC shopping.
Ad Standards Scholarship Recipients
In 2021, the Ad Standards Scholarship (for English language schools) was awarded to Kartik Dalal, a third-year Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) student at Queen’s University. Kartik is an active volunteer who has worked with the Queen’s Relay for Life, Shine Through The Rain Foundation, Vaughan Public Libraries Reading Buddies program, and Jack.org, among others. While volunteering extensively, Kartik also achieved excellent academic results throughout his time in school. Long term, he plans to build a career in digital marketing and strategy at a Fortune 500 company.

Also in 2021, the Ad Standards Scholarship (for French language schools) was awarded to Élizabeth Tremblay, a fourth-year Public Communications student at Laval University. Élizabeth is committed to supporting her community and school though volunteerism and has contributed to organizations such as Le Minimaliste, a zero-waste grocery where she helped develop a campaign to reduce the use of packaging, and the Salon des communications de l’Université Laval. In school, Élizabeth is pursuing an advertising concentration and has achieved excellent results. Her goal is to work at a major Quebec-based advertising agency.
Clearance Services Check Mark
In October 2020, we announced the launch of our updated Preclearance check mark logo, designed to communicate in digital, video and print formats that an ad or information message has been vetted by Ad Standards Clearance Services. The response has been tremendous and we thank those who consistently use the check mark across platforms!

For those not yet familiar, the check mark is a visual symbol of compliance with the rules, guidelines, codes, laws and policies for specific product categories. Look for it on any ad or information piece that has been precleared, including all communication about alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, food/non-alcoholic beverages, health products, and of course, any broadcast messaging directed at children (excluding Quebec).

It is an easy way to assure everyone that the associated content has been reviewed, and that it checks out!

Learn more about the initiative at precleared.ca.
ICAS Members Adopt Charter
Members of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) have adopted a Charter to strengthen advertising self-regulation globally by committing to enhance cooperation, coherence and consistency – for the benefit of global consumers and businesses. The Charter was adopted at the ICAS Annual Meeting on May 7, 2021.

As proud members of ICAS, Ad Standards supports the charter and the commitment to further enhancing the effectiveness of advertising self-regulation around the world.
IAA Fireside Chat
Our own Catherine Bate sat down for a virtual interview with Jeffrey A. Greenbaum from the International Advertising Association (IAA) to talk about advertising self-regulation in Canada.

Upcoming Ad Standards and Industry Events
Ad Standards Webinar
Presented in French
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 pm ET
Free to Register

AMA Webinar
Wednesday, June 9
12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST

McMillan LLP Webinar
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021
Time: 12:00 to 1:30 pm ET
Free to Register

Clearance Services Webinar
Ad Standards Clearance Services is excited to present, for the first time, an introductory alcoholic beverage advertising workshop on the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s Liquor Advertising Guidelines - Liquor Sales Licensees and Manufacturers and Advertising Guidelines: Sale of Beer, Wine and Cider in Grocery Stores. This workshop will focus on print, out-of-home and digital advertising.

Essential for new employees or those new to alcohol advertising, this workshop is designed to assist marketers and agency personnel to understand and apply the requirements of AGCO advertising guidelines. Using existing creative, Ad Standards Clearance analysts will discuss how to create compliant alcoholic beverage non-broadcast advertising for the province of Ontario.
 
A date and time for this webinar will be announced shortly.
Welcome to New Ad Standards Members and Official Representatives
BK Canada Service ULC
Official Representative: Pratik Mehta, Senior Manager Marketing
BURGER KING is part of the Restaurant Brands International Inc. family of quick service restaurants. Founded in 1954, it operates more than 17,800 locations in more than 100 countries. Almost 100 percent of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees.
Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd.
Official Representative: Cheryl Cann, Executive Director Customer Marketing
Boehringer Ingelheim is a research-driven company dedicated to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing pharmaceuticals that improve health and quality of life. With its Canadian head office in Burlington, Ontario, Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd. (BICL) businesses consist of Prescription Medicines and Animal Health. BICL is looking to make significant investments to establish a Consumer Health Care (CHC) business in Canada.
Caddle Canada
Official Representative: Ransom Hawley, CEO
Caddle collects consumer insights to help their clients understand market trends, their consumers and predict consumer shopping patterns.
Canadian Tire Corporation
Official Representative: Eva Salem, VP, Strategic Marketing
Canadian Tire Corporation is a family of businesses that was founded in 1922. Led by Canadian Tire, the retail segment also includes 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets, Mark's, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere). They are supported by a Financial Services division and tens of thousands of employees across the country. Ad Standards is pleased to welcome Eva Salem to the Board of Directors.
Charton Hobbs Inc.
Official Representative: Ruaraidh MacIntyre, National Brand Manager
Since 1925, Charton Hobbs has worked with spirits producers to make premium alcohol products accessible to all Canadians.
Crew Marketing Partners
Official Representative: Gerald Schoenhoff, Chief Creative Officer
Founded in 2007, Crew Food & Beverage Marketing Partners is a strategic marketing and creative agency, specializing in food, beverage and agriculture brands.
Georgian Bay Spirit Co.
Official Representative: Mel Loomans-Beaudoin, Marketing Manager
Founded in 2013, Georgian Bay Spirit Co. is privately owned producer of small-batch spirits.
Healthwise Creative Resources Group
Official Representative: Irene Atamanchuk, Account Director
Founded in 1992, Healthwise CRG is located in Toronto, ON and is an independent, full-service communications agency dedicated exclusively to healthcare. Healthwise works with pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and healthcare-related companies, as well as health-related government organizations and not-for-profits. 
Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada
Official Representative: Lindsay Finneran-Gingras, Vice-President
H+K is a global communications company, partnering with clients across more than 80 offices in more than 40 markets.
Ivonne Sanchez Beauty
Official Representative: Christopher Cascanette Director, Business Development, Marketing
Ivonne Sanchez Beauty is a full service Permanent Makeup and Beauty Clinic, located in Ottawa, Canada. They provide cosmetic micropigmentation and core aesthetic services.
Marks and Clerk LLP
Official Representative: Catherine Lovrics, Partner
Marks & Clerk is an international group of intellectual property service providers, encompassing patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys, lawyers and consultants. Including partners, it currently employs over 300 legal practitioners worldwide and over 550 other staff.
Red Planet Group
Official Representative: Jason Mars, President
Red Planet Group is a Canadian distributor and marketer of toys, based in Lachine, QC. 
Did You Know?
There are a number of resources available for Ad Standards Members:

  • Educational Events - Ad Standards hosts forums, workshops, seminars and supports other industry events to raise awareness of emerging advertising industry news and trends. Frequently, we are able to offer discounted (or complimentary) registration for our members to such events. Check out our Event Calendar periodically to stay abreast of available opportunities.
  • Virtual Coffee? - We’re always eager to catch-up, learn and to educate. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to book a call or presentation.
  • Resources - Use Ad Standards’ extensive online library as a one-stop repository of information regarding advertising industry self-regulation. In addition to Ad Complaints Reports and the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards and related documents, you will also find Ad Standards consumer research, current guidelines and important information pertaining to advertising preclearance.
Ad Standards Member Logo
We encourage Ad Standards members to use our specially designed Membership Logo in their communications materials. Using this logo is an easy way to enhance consumer trust in your ads, as our Consumer Research indicated that a majority of Canadians (84%) are more likely to trust advertisements from Ad Standards members.

Contact Randy Sageman for access to the logo.
Ad Standards | 416-961-6311 | [email protected]