The effect of the new ICC Code on Swiss advertising
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) completely revised its Code of Ethics for Advertising and Marketing Communications last year and updated it to reflect the digital transformation. The German-speaking Switzerland section of KS/CS Kommunikation Schweiz took this revision as an opportunity to present the new Code to interested professionals at its third «Talk im Mascotte» event, in collaboration with ICC Switzerland and the Swiss Fair Trading Commission.
Guest lecturer from Paris: Raelene Martin, Policy Manager, Commission on Marketing and Advertising, ICC International
"Building consumer trust through responsible marketing" is the guiding principle of the ICC Code - in exact wording: ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code. Its relevance has not changed with the tenth revision of 2018, as Raelene Martin, Policy Manager Marketing and Advertising at ICC International, assured.
According to Martin, the main changes relate to the clear conceptual extension to all digital advertising channels and a new age classification for children and young people. Whereas there were previously no age categories, a distinction is now made between children "younger than 12 years" and young people "13-17 years". However, it still applies to both age groups that corresponding advertising requires special consideration. ICC has launched a dedicated website for the new Code, with all the important information on the new rules, a training tool for communications professionals, and specific rules for alcohol, direct marketing and environmental issues.
Dr. Marc Schwenninger, legal secretary of the Swiss Commission on Fair Trading (SLK), then used a number of practical examples to explain the effects of the ICC Code in the assessment of a complaint. Specifically, there are three areas that are not covered by Swiss law and the principles of the Fairness Commission and for which the SLK refers to the ICC Code. On the one hand, this relates to the aforementioned advertising, which is aimed specifically at children and young people, and on the other hand to the issue of "social responsibility", i.e. violations of socially widely accepted values. In the presented case from 2008, a telecom company advertised with a subject showing a desperate man trying to drown himself in the toilet. Although the complaint was rejected, the problem can be well illustrated by this. The third area in which the SLK refers to the ICC Code is advertising for environmental and sustainability issues, for which a particularly strict burden of proof applies.
Rejected for clear advertising exaggeration: did not violate social values.
Dr. Marc Schwenninger, Legal Secretary Swiss Fairness Commission, explains in which cases the SLK relies on the ICC Code.
Christian Merk (President German-speaking Switzerland Section KS/CS), Raelene Martin (ICC International), Thomas Pletscher (Secretary General ICC Switzerland) and Marc Schwenninger (SLK) (f.l)
