Advertising Standards Canada, Canada’s national not-for-profit advertising self-regulatory body, has appointed its new board of directors, and a Consumers Council of Canada member and former director remains as the “public representative” on the board.
Christina Bisanz, a former director and executive director of the Council, was re-appointed. The Council, itself, is a member of Advertising Standards Canada.
Advertising Standards Canada was created by the advertising industry in 1957. ASC “was founded on the belief that advertising self-regulation best serves the interests of the industry and the public.”
ASC has announced, also, the appointment of Jani Yates to the position of President and CEO of the organization effective June 13, 2016.
Outgoing ASC President and CEO Linda Nagel is to be honoured with the Association of Canadian Advertisers 2016 Gold Medal.
“The Consumers Council of Canada congratulates Christina Bisanz and Jani Yates on their appointments,” said Consumers Council of Canada Aubrey LeBlanc. “The Council commends Linda Nagel for her service at ASC.”
The Consumers Council of Canada has been active over the years in providing volunteer consumer representatives to the Children’s Clearance Committee of ASC and, as such, is a participant in advertising self-regulation at the ASC.
The Children’s Clearance Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving children’s broadcast advertising messages to ensure compliance with the provisions of The Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children. All children’s commercials must be approved by the Children’s Committee and carry a valid ASC approval number prior to broadcast.
The Council has been active, as well, in representing consumers concerning advertising practices and other competition-related issues through semi-annual consultations with the Competition Bureau of Canada. The Council hosted a panel of consumer groups which led to a report on food advertising, labelling and advertising in 2012.
The self-regulation of children’s advertising concerning food products has recently been criticized by an array of health consumer and professional organizations working together as the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.
Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition has asserted “self-regulation doesn’t work” when it comes to managing marketing to children.
“The Council has been proud to work to protect children and all consumers within the self-regulatory environment of ASC,” said LeBlanc. “The Council is open to a discussion with interested stakeholders about how it should exercise its membership at ASC. As a consumer group member of ASC, the Council is always open to reviewing the practices of any self-regulator with which it is or has been involved. It concerns our organization that the reputable members of the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition have rebuked self-regulation.”
The Council collects consumer experiences through its website. Any consumer can share their experience.
“Anyone in Canada concerned about how advertising practises have affected them as a consumer are encouraged to share with the Council online,” said LeBlanc. “As a non-profit voluntary organization, the Council cannot become involved in individual consumer problems, but it will consider those problems in acting as a representative of Canada’s consumers.”