(Surreptitious) advertisement for a medication
The Dutch Advertising Code Committee (Reclame Code Commissie, RCC), received a complaint about communications in a brochure and on the website of the Stichting Bewegen Zonder Pijn (SBZP). The communications referred to a specific combination of ingredients. They seemed to be purely informative. But according to pharmaceutical industry association Neprofarm, they actually involved surreptitious advertising, partly originating from Synofit, a manufacturer of dietary supplements, for its product Synofit Premium
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The Witte Wieven, everyone knows who they are!
The Witte Wieven (“Women in White”)…are mythical creatures. They are thought to be the spirits of wise female herbalists that remained on earth. They appear in epic stories, sometimes to help, sometimes to hinder. … the Witte Wieven are often referred to in connection with witches and ghosts. This is what the English version of Wikipedia has to say about ‘witte wieven’.
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What does ‘Skinny Orange’ mean?
What ingredients do you think are in the product below on the left? No, don’t keep reading, I really want your opinion. Go on. I can wait. You can also share your thoughts with me by email. Done? The applicant felt he had been misled. He thought that the product only contained orange juice and so felt cheated when the rest of the packaging revealed that the product contained 33% water. Misleading!
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Wine grower Ilja Gort left empty-handed in fight against Dutch Tulip Vodka
Wine grower, writer, and television presenter Ilja Gort is the co-founder and owner of the Chateau de la Garde winery. One of the winery’s best-known and best-selling wines is ‘La Tulipe’, which graces the shelves of Albert Heijn supermarkets. Chateau de la Garde has multiple registrations for the word mark LA TULIPE. Last summer, De la Garde successfully defended its trademark against a Hema brand wine bearing a tulip on the label.
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NVWA 2018: focus on misleading claims and publishing sanctions
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit, NVWA) has just recently published its annual plan, providing an interesting look behind the scenes. The NVWA lists as its core values: reliability, independence, transparency, and professionalism. Stemming from these is its clarification about where its priorities lie.
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NEWS 2018-03
Our latest NEWS has just been published! An easy-to-read overview of developments in advertising law, intellectual property and food law in the Netherlands and Europe.
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Heks’nkaas: science fiction-copyright
Limited freedom for advertisements on the Five Freedoms
Corporate social responsibility is a hot topic. More and more, business proudly proclaim to be “responsible”, “climate neutral” and “green”. But not everyone is convinced of the sincerity of these claims. And so, Varkens in Nood, a Dutch organization that fights for the well-being of pigs, submitted complaints to the Dutch Advertising Code Committee (ACC) against ING and ABN AMRO.
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Scotch from the Buchenbachtal?
Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Glen Talloch and Glen Buchenbach are all names of whisky’s, however only a few of them are allowed to use the predicate ‘Scotch Whisky’. Scotch Whisky is a so called protected geographical indication (PGI). It can only be used when the whisky originates from Scotland. Glen Buchenbach, a whisky from the Buchenbachtal in Germany, therefore cannot and does not use the term Scotch Whisky.
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Designing a label: peanuts?
Foodwatch is well known at the Advertising Code Commission (Reclame Code Commissie, “ACC”). The food watchdog submits complaints about food advertising with some regularity. This time, it was the turn of the packing on M&M's Peanut & Hazelnut.
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Cosmetics ad for Biodermal 60+ cream
It's OK to use 'ad-speak' in advertising, certainly with cosmetics. Consumers are fully aware that they'll often see advertising hyperbole at work. But factual descriptions of effects have to be true. Since the case about Biodermal 60+ day and night cream, at the Appeal Board of the Advertising Code Commission (College van Beroep van de Reclame Code Commissie), we now know exactly how the rules on evidence stand when it comes to cosmetics ads.
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EUR 150,000 for breach of Max’s portrait right expensive joke or not?
On 6 September 2017, the District Court of Amsterdam had already held that Picnic using a Max Verstappen lookalike in an amusing freeriding clip just couldn't pass go. The court offered Max the chance to substantiate his losses, which Picnic would have to pay.
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The battle of the toothbrushes, between P&G and Philips
In April 2018, the District Court of Rotterdam ruled on the toothbrush skirmish between Philips and P&G. P&G compared its Oral-B electric toothbrush with Philips’ DiamondClean toothbrush in its advertising campaign. You've guessed it: Oral-B sparkles, it's "the best" and it "cleans better". The Philips model is shown in black, literally put in the shade. Philips was not amused, and demanded the campaign should be stopped at the provisional relief court.
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The Battle of Manchego: Spain v. Mexico
Many countries have their own specialities. We're known here for our Dutch cheeses, like Gouda or Edam. Manufacturers can apply for European protection for their products. This protection falls into one of three sorts: the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG).
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NEWS 2018-02
Our latest NEWS has just been published! An easy-to-read overview of developments in advertising law, intellectual property and food law in the Netherlands and Europe.
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Intolerance versus the power of repetition
A rather saddening trend: recently the Advertising Code Committee (ACC) has received quite a number of complaints about advertising in which expression is given to homosexuality.Suitsupply’s out-of-home-campaign, in which kissing men are shown (oh my…), received a considerable amount of negative attention.
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Responsible needs an explanation
The inflation of the expression "responsible" has to be prevented, according to the Advertising Code Commission (Reclame Code Commissie, “ACC”). It's a broad, catch-all term. In today's society, consumers are consistently opting for a responsible product, to do their bit.
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The best TV: mere puffery or objective claim?
“The most beautiful”, “the best tasting”, “the best there is”. These are all common claims in advertising. It is often fine to promote products by using superlatives. The consumer often understands them as mere puffery and does not take them literally. However, sometimes superlatives are understood as objective claims and do require hard evidence. But when is this the case? This question was addressed recently by the District Court in Amsterdam in preliminary proceedings.
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Stirring things up: ingredients and nutrients mandatory for alcoholic beverages
On 29 March last year, I wrote that the European Commission requested the alcohol industry to propose a self-regulatory framework about the labelling of alcoholic beverages (>1.2% alcohol). This proposal should arrange for mandatory inclusion of the list of ingredients and nutrition declaration on the label. The background is that, until now, alcohol was exempt from the obligation to include this information on the label.
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Update: proposal for new legal maximum vitamin B6 in food supplements
On 1 February 2018 a draft proposal was sent to the European Commission by The Netherlands, announcing a new maximum level and several mandatory warning for vitamin B6 in food supplements. Levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements are not yet harmonized on a European level, which is why the rules on maximum levels differ per member state. A challenge to those active in more countries.
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