ASC NEWS

ASC Announces 2011/2012 Leadership and Recognizes PSA Contributors

ASC announced its Board of Directors at a breakfast session following its April 28, 2011, Annual Meeting. John Coyne, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, of Unilever Canada Inc. was elected 2011/2012 Chair of the Board. Randy Otto, President of Pattison Outdoor Advertising, was thanked for his exemplary service as Chair of the Board for the past two years, and will remain as Immediate Past Chair on the Executive Committee. Other Executive Committee members include: Lorraine Hughes, President, OMD Canada, as Vice Chair; Patrick Dickinson, Vice President, The Bay, as Vice Chair and Treasurer; Jani Yates, President, Institute of Communications Agencies; and Ron Lund, President and CEO, Association of Canadian Advertisers Inc. A complete list of ASC’s 2011/2012 Board of Directors can be found, here.

At the breakfast session, ASC President and CEO, Linda Nagel, spoke of the tremendous success of our most recent PSA campaign, "Truth in Advertising Matters". The campaign already has been recognized for excellence by being awarded Silver Prize of the 2011 European Advertising Standards Alliance Best Practice Awards. Cossette was thanked for its extraordinary contribution of time and talent to the development of the creative. Also thanked were the Board of Directors’ PSA subcommittee members: Sandy MacLeod, Vice President, Consumer Marketing & Strategy, Toronto Star; Patrick Dickinson, Vice President, Marketing, The Bay; and Brett Marchand, President and CEO, Cossette, for developing the strategy to effectively communicate industry’s commitment to standards for truthful advertising.

ASC has received an unprecedented level of support from the media companies that are contributing space and time to carry the PSAs. Media donations already exceeding more than $5 million, have been across all media – television, print, radio, digital, and out-of-home. Thank you to the following companies for their generous contributions:

ASC Publishes 2010/2011 Annual Report

ASC’s 2010/2011 Annual Report is now available. The Annual Report highlights ASC’s accomplishments over the past 12 months and features the volunteers, members, Board of Directors and staff who contribute to effective advertising self-regulation in Canada.

Consumer Complaints

ASC released its Ad Complaints Report - 2010 Year in Review. The Report provides information about consumers’ complaints submitted to ASC in 2010 for review under the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (Code).

A snapshot of the 2010 Ad Complaints Report includes:

• Consumers submitted 1,200 complaints about 743 advertisements
• ASC’s independent volunteer Consumer Response Councils found 84 complaints, concerning 58 advertisements, contravened the Code.
• Retail advertising garnered the most complaints (256).

ASC regularly reports on complaints that have been upheld by Councils. The Ad Complaints Report – Q1 2011 is available, here. Recent Complaint Case Summaries from April are available, here.

ASC’s Ad Complaints Database is searchable by period, product/advertiser category, media type, Code clause(s), and key word.

Member Presentations and Consultations on Code Requirements

ASC offers custom presentations regarding the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (Code). Presented by Janet Feasby, ASC’s Vice President, Standards, these presentations are tailored to each member company. Members learn about the Code, Consumer Complaints Process, and Trade Dispute Procedure. Please contact Tim Peel, Director, Membership and Communications, to learn more.

In addition to these tailored presentations, ASC is available to members for Code consultations. Through these phone or email consultations, ASC will assess proposed creative to determine whether there are potential Code issues or concerns. Please contact Janet Feasby, Vice President, Standards, to learn more.

ASC Awards Robert E. Oliver Scholarship

Each year, ASC awards the Robert E. Oliver Scholarship to recognize the academic excellence and outstanding citizenship of a student studying marketing and advertising. The scholarship is in commemoration of Robert E. Oliver, an architect of advertising self-regulation in Canada and the first president of ASC (then called the Canadian Advertising Advisory Board).

Michelle Bergsma, from Whitehorse, Yukon is the 2011 scholarship recipient. Michelle is a third-year undergraduate student enrolled in the University of Guelph’s Marketing Management Co-op program and has been on the Dean’s Honours List for four consecutive semesters. In addition to her academic excellence, Michelle is deeply involved in her community as a volunteer. She mentors grade six students on behalf of Big Brothers Big Sisters and is also an assistant high school volleyball coach.