The Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children was developed by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), in cooperation with Advertising Standards Canada (ASC). The purpose of the code is to help advertisers to respect the special characteristics of children when creating commercial messages designed for them. For example, the Code recognizes that young children have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality, and recommends that advertising directed at them respect this fact rather than take advantage of it.
All across Canada (except in Quebec, where advertising to children is prohibited by law), broadcast commercials directed at children under 12 must follow guidelines set out in the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children. The Code has been accepted by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC); and compliance with its provisions is a condition of licence for Canadian broadcasters.
The Code’s 14 provisions deal with various issues related to responsible advertising practices, including:
- Comparison Claims
- Factual Presentation
- Safety
- Product Prohibitions
- Avoiding Undue Pressure
- Scheduling
- Promotion by Program Characters, Advertiser-Generated Characters, and Personal Endorsements
- Social Values
Under the Social Values clause, an Interpretive Guideline regarding food advertising to children was developed in April 2004. This guideline is designed to, among other things, ensure that snack foods are clearly presented as such, and not as substitutes for meals. This guideline is also applicable to the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
The code is administered by Advertising Standards Canada (ASC). To submit a complaint about advertising content that may contravene the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children, consumers can use the form on the ASC Web site (see right sidebar).
Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children (Full Text)
