Responsible Advertising To Children | Association of Canadian Advertisers

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Marketers approach advertising to children with the highest regard, standards and accountability. Canada is already heralded around the world as having one of the most comprehensive systems of codes and standards for responsible advertising to children. ACA is a strong supporter of the self-regulatory system in this country, but can do better.

The system has two key components:

1) Broadcast Code For Advertising to Children
2) Canadian Code of Advertising Standards

It is important to note that the province of Quebec has separate legislation regarding advertising to children under the Consumer Protection Act. It prohibits commercial advertising that targets children under the age of thirteen.

Download the guide for this Act.

Current Action

In 2016 Senator Nancy Greene Raine introduced the Child Health Protection Act (Bill S-228) a bill that intended to further restrict advertising of foods and beverages to children, but also would have resulted in restricting food and beverage advertising directed to adults. Additionally, it demonized many food products by trying to characterize them as “unhealthy.” In 2019 after almost three years of lobbying by the ACA and other industry stakeholders, the bill failed to pass. Read the case study for more details.

We share the government’s objective to fight childhood obesity in Canada. While Bill S-228 did not pass, ACA worked extensively with our other major food and beverage industry coalition partners – Food, Health and Consumer Products Canada, Canadian Beverage Association and Restaurants Canada – with government and a diverse group of stakeholders to develop and launch the Code and Guide for the Responsible Advertising of Food and Beverage Products to Children (“Code” and “Guide”) in June of 2021.

The Code and Guide sets rules for advertisers of food and beverage products, requiring a responsible approach to child audiences. Under this new standard, only food that meet specified nutrition criteria may be advertised in a manner that is primarily directed to children under the age of 13.

Beginning June 28, 2023, Ad Standards fully-implemented its robust preclearance regime to the Code and Guide. Advertisers are encouraged to submit all food and beverage advertisings that might reasonably be seen as primarily directed to children, in any media, for review and preclearance by Ad Standards. In determining whether an advertisement is primarily directed to children.

Ad Standards will consider three criteria: (a) the nature and intended purpose of the food or beverage product advertised; (b) the manner of presenting the advertisement; and (c) the time and place it is shown. Preclearance is available for all advertisers, and not just members of Ad Standards or any of the stakeholders responsible for the development of the Code and Guide.

Ad Standards will also enforce the Code and Guide through a complaints-based mechanism applicable to all advertisers. For ads that were precleared under the Code and Guide by Ad Standards, the complainant will be advised that these ads are compliant and no further action will be taken.

The new Code and Guide will govern all food and beverage advertising across Canada on any media. It meets or exceeds the latest Health Canada recommendations published in December 2018.