Advertisers and content creators should make their collaboration sufficiently clear in advertising messages. This can be done by "#ad," for example, but there are other ways. An example is "#LiptoniceTeaAmbassador."
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Greenpeace is allowed to express its opinion in a confrontational commercial about the role it believes the Dutch bank Rabobank plays in the nature, climate, and nitrogen crisis. This was decided by the Advertising Code Committee. The television commercial features images of forest fires, mega-stalls and the felling of rain forests. The text and voice-over says, among other things: "Rabobank, proud sponsor of festivals & nature destruction" and "Rabobank, proud sponsor of museums & cutting down rainforests."
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Because of the spam ban, you may not just send marketing e-mails. In principle, this requires prior permission. But what about informative service messages? Is permission never required? Pay attention!
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Using ChatGPT, Midjourney, Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion and other AI applications in the production of advertising campaigns is super convenient and can save a lot of time and money. However, such use is not without legal risk. Not surprisingly, many ad agencies and international advertising networks have put the use of AI on hold, banned it, or subjected it to strict rules. But what legal risks are we really talking about? Without pretending to be exhaustive, in this post I will mention two relevant issues in the field of Dutch copyright law.
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In a YouTube video the dairy producer Melkunie claims to be on the sustainable tour: Melkunie is planting 40,000 trees. That's not greenwashing. Why not? Melkunie does what it says and also explains its sustainability claim. The fact that dairy production has harmful effects on the environment does not mean that Melkunie should no longer use the word sustainable.
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Food industry beware! The Advertising Code Committee (ACC) distributed an Alert (in Dutch) because unauthorized novel food was being advertised. An Alert is a way to bring the violation to the attention of a large audience. This is done in part through the Advertising Code Foundation's website and social media. With all its PR implications.
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Plastic soup in the Mediterranean Sea and porpoises mistaking a piece of plastic for a tasty fish. Or closer: overflowing trash cans in the park or a polluted ditch. To prevent litter, the European Commission introduced new rules regarding single-use plastic products (SUP for short). From July 1, 2023, consumers will pay a "SUP levy" for products with so-called single-use plastic packaging.
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The rules and views on sustainability claims are constantly changing. Therefore, the Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) has given the 'Guidelines Sustainability Claims' a major update.
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Following a complaint from Cosun Beet Company, Air up must stop a YouTube video for its product air-up in which Air up speaks very negatively about sugary soft drinks.
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Before a consumer purchases something online, the seller must provide certain information to that consumer. Any webshop should carefully check whether it complies with these information obligations. In the Netherlands, judges have to assess this ex officio and impose a sanction for a violation, such as refund of the purchase price.
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Sustainability claims are important. As a company you want to be able to communicate what you have already achieved, and what your ambitions are to help our planet. As a consumer, you want to know exactly what the sustainable element of the product or service is. And you want to be able to trust that. Greenwashing is counterproductive.
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CoolBest focused on sustainability in its revamped packaging, with the claims 'Now in a plant-based pack' and 'Our packs are 100% linked to plant-based materials and 100% reusable'. Is CoolBest allowed to make these environmental claims? The Advertising Code Committee (ACC) rules that it is not.
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From 1 January 2023, new rules for communicating rebates will apply. There is much ambiguity and debate surrounding these new rules. They may have unintended consequences for retailers' rebate policies. Reason to highlight the main points.
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Korean kimchi, South African braai, Moroccan tagine and ceviche from Peru. For delicacies from world cuisine, you no longer have to travel far: supermarkets and menus are full of these delicacies. Recently, the chairman of the Advertising Code Committee dealt with a case about an American speciality: the dried and spiced meat snack beef jerky.
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Dynamic pricing, scarcity markers, nudging, social proof and dark patterns. There are endless tactics to influence online buying decisions. Where is the line between permissible influence and an unfair commercial practice? In the Guidelines on the protection of the online consumes, published in 2020, regulator ACM clarified how it applies consumer rules to online influencing techniques.
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Just a reminder: the nutrition claim 'no added sugar' means that the food contains no additional sugar in the recipe, i.e. no mono- or disaccharides. This is stated in the Claims Regulation 1924/2006. This also precludes the addition of, for example, dates or malt syrup to make the product sweeter. Why? That would mislead consumers who rely on 'no added sugar'.
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Amp. Amsterdam // The Sonic Branding Company is making an interesting podcast about music in advertising, aptly titled "Advertising Music". In a series of short episodes, the host Amber Roner takes us all into the world of advertising music. Amber talks to artists, producers, music supervisors, publishers, advertisers, and......lawyers! Daniël Haije (Hoogenraad & Haak) and Syb Terpstra (bureau Brandeis) took part in an episode about the legal aspects of advertising music.
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Luna had been working with us as a legal advisor for some time. After a long holiday in Colombia, Luna returns to our firm and in January she will be sworn in as a lawyer at the Amsterdam Bar. Luna will advise and litigate in all areas of our firm: advertising law, intellectual property and food law. Go Luna!
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Our advertising practice has been strengthened with the arrival of lawyer Lisa Peek. Lisa specializes in intellectual property, advertising, marketing and privacy law. Since her joining the Amsterdam Bar in 2018, she worked at a leading law firm in Amsterdam and at a specialized niche firm in Utrecht. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys traveling, running and drawing portraits.
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