Green, greener, greenest! Consumers are increasingly making (more) conscious choices for more sustainable, natural products. The food industry is embracing this need. Chewing gum producer BenBits also advertises with "natural" and "plastic-free" gum. This year, competitors Perfetti (Mentos and others) and BenBits submitted complaints about each other's advertising.
Read MoreYou sell products of someone else's brand. You would like a web shop that is easy to find for customers interested in that brand. Therefore, you use a domain name that includes that brand. Is that allowed...? The plaintiff in the Elisabetta Franchi case is.
Read MoreA new nuance in the discussion about ‘climate neutral’ claims: Arla mentions on its organic dairy products that the milk and yogurt would be climate neutral, as it invests in the planting of new trees in Africa. By this Arla means that its dairy is climate neutral because it is certified according to the climate neutral label CNG (Climate Neutral Group), a solid quality label with strict requirements. That label uses the wording "climate neutral”. Can Arla do this too? The Board of Appeal distinguishes between two types of climate-neutral statements.
Read MoreAttention to legal Counsels from ad agencies and major advertisers! On 13 October 2022, the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) will host its annual advertising law conference at the Ham Yard Hotel in London. The theme of this year’s conference is "Global Advertising in an Age of Crisis and Change".
Read MoreIn July 2022, a complaint was submitted at the ACC against brewer Liefmans' claims "alcohol-free" and "0.0" on the label and website of its Liefmans Fruitesse 0.0 beer. Why? Both the use of '0.0' and 'alcohol-free' would be misleading. In fact, as was also stated on the Liefmans website at the time of the complaint, the fruit beer contains less than 0.05% alcohol. The beer is thus not completely alcohol-free.
Read MoreAdvertisers may use a self-developed logo in advertising if it is made sufficiently clear what is meant by this logo. This general principle was confirmed in a recent case before the Advertising Code Committee (ACC) between Unilever and Foodwatch. Foodwatch filed a complaint alleging that the "Responsibly Made for Kids" logo developed by Unilever was misleading.
Read MoreGroundbreaking and justified. If a prohibited medical claim is made for a food supplement the NVWA is to base a fine on the Foodstuffs Act (starting amount €550). Until now the NVWA reasoned that a double fine could be imposed on the company based on the Medicines Act (starting amount per fine €150,000). In a thorough and convincing judgment the Court of Oost-Brabant rules out the Medicines Act in this case.
Read MoreA webshop may not claim that reviews are authentic if this has not been investigated. And the posting of fake reviews by webshops (or having them posted) is now misleading by definition. This follows from the new e-commerce rules that apply since May 28, 2022 as a result of the implementation of the Modernization Directive (2019/2161).
But how does one prove that a review is fake or real?
Read MoreThe expressions about sustainability are numerous, as are the rulings of the Advertising Code Committee on this subject. Here are some tips and general guidelines to see through the forest of sustainable/green/eco trees.
Read MoreOn 17 May 2022, the Dutch Media Authority (CvdM) published the new Policy Rule on Qualification of Commercial Media Services on Demand 2022. Very briefly: as of 1 July 2022, vloggers with 500,000 or more followers must register with the CvdM, join the Advertising Code Committee, register with NICAM (age rating) and comply with the rules of the Media Act (including the also renewed policy rules of the CvdM on sponsorship and product placement).
Read MoreNutri-Score is a voluntary food choice logo that helps consumers to make healthier choices when purchasing within a product group. Nutri-Score has not yet been officially introduced in the Netherlands; this is expected to happen in 2022. Nutri-Score can already be found on store shelves as part of pilots and because it is already in use abroad.
Read MoreTaste is subjective and therefore it cannot be copyrighted, was the ruling in the Heksenkaas case. In this Advertising Code Committee case the issue is not the copyright on taste, but the expectation of the taste of a biscuit based on the packaging.
Read MoreFor almost 15 years, our office was located in the Emerald House, in the shadow of the Okura Hotel. Everything was there: meeting rooms, comfy rooms, computers, standing desks, a photocopier, a rather psychedelic graffiti of a geisha in traditional Dutch costume and reasonable coffee. Yet slowly it was time for something new.
Read MoreA television commercial for women's underwear by Dutch retail chain Zeeman shows women in underwear in all kinds of situations. Women’s buttocks are prominently featured. Complainants find the commercial women-unfriendly, sexist and too naked for a time slot when children also watch TV. They also complain that Zeeman encourages women to distribute erotic selfies. The complaints raise the question whether the commercial is contrary to good taste and/or decency.
Read MoreAnyone who contracts an influencer will of course ensure that the influencer has to comply with all advertising rules: Mentioning #ad and so on. But that's not enough!
Read More“Vitalise Positive Saffron Complex will lift your spirits if you are feeling gloomy.” Is this claim allowed or not? You’ll need to be very accurate when using botanicals. This claim is too strong; a more subtle claim would have been acceptable.
Read MoreThe vegan shoarma pizza is the latest addition to New York Pizza's pizza range. This launch did not go unnoticed, as is often the case with this pizza specialist. Earlier, we reported that the campaign promoting the cauliflower pizza base caught the eye.
Read MoreThe Dutch Advertising Code Committee (ACC) issued an important ruling on 26 August 2021. The ACC sets very high standards for the substantiation of CO2 neutralization claims.
Read MoreOn July 1st the new Alcohol Act will enter into force, replacing the Drinks and Catering Act. These new rules aim to prevent alcohol use by young people and combat problematic alcohol use in the Netherlands. The most prominent change is the ban on discounts above 25% in retail stores (Art. 2a Alcohol Act). This puts an end to offers such as 'buy one, get two’ or 'three for the price of two'.
Read MoreThose who want to make comparative advertising must jump through a high hoop. Specsavers has experienced that. Its campaign 'The Truth' does not meet the rules of art. A ban follows. Specsavers had an eye-catching campaign titled "The Truth” (in Dutch: De waarheid). Well known pianist Wibi Soerjadi performs in that campaign. The tenor: at Specsavers the hearing aids are much cheaper and better than at other audiologists.
Read More
