SLK celebrates with a wink
An aggressive slice of cake, a lewd banana, and a popsicle sticking its tongue out at us have been promoting fair advertising since Thursday.
The new campaign is one of the highlights of the anniversary year of the Swiss Commission for Fair Trading (SLK). It points out that the communications industry has now been operating a successful self-regulatory system for 50 years, one that is recognized far beyond the industry.
The Fairness Commission is celebrating its 50th anniversary with various activities and events. In addition to the communications industry, the aim is to raise awareness of the importance of self-regulation among politicians, the media and consumers. These activities started at the beginning of March at a session of the parliamentary group Media and Communication (GMK) with a vote in favor of self-regulation by Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, who, like Council of States member Pascale Bruderer, once chaired the SLK. This was followed by a tribute on Advertising Day by KS Kommunikation Schweiz and a keynote speech by Foundation Board President Filippo Lombardi on Brand Day by Promarca, which met with a great response from brand companies. In addition to extensive coverage in various trade media of the communications industry, an exhibition of exceptional cases from practice will follow in the course of the year in the ADC Gallery (27.10.-10.11.16) as well as a conference at the Europa Institute of the University of Zurich (29.11.16) on the topic of "50 years of the Swiss Commission on Fairness - advertising practice put to the test".
A cake, a banana and a popsicle promote fair advertising
Just on September 1, exactly fifty years to the day after the constituent meeting of the Court of Honor, as the SLK was called in its early days, the Fairness Commission is launching a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign with three subjects on the most frequent grounds for complaint: aggressive, gender-discriminatory (sexism) and deceptive advertising. This is represented by a slice of cake that belligerently bares its "teeth," a banana that bawls its skin lewdly, and a popsicle that gives us a long nose. The campaign was made possible thanks to the active and generous support of Havas (artwork), APG (billboards), Mediaschneider (freespace) and Christinger Partner (poster printing) as well as the following sponsors and partners (in alphabetical order and not exhaustive): Allianz Schweizer Werbeagenturen ASW, Leading Swiss Agencies LSA, Kartac - Interessengemeinschaft der Zahlkartenindustrie, Schweizer Dialogmarketing Verband SDV, Schweizer Werbe-Auftraggebersverband SWA-ASA, Swisscom, Verband Schweizer Kreditbanken und Finanzierungsinstitute VSKF, Verband Schweizer Medien, Zürcher Werbeclub, Zürich Versicherungs-Gesellschaft, and others. fair-advertising.ch/anniversary
Responsible at Fluxif: Achille Lietha (Concept Art Direction/Compositing), Filip.Frisk (3D Artist), Martin Hernblad, (3D Artist), Ashleigh Leeann Foo Chong (Concept Art). Responsible at the Swiss Advertising Foundation for fairness in commercial communication: Ursula Gamper (Business Office), Thomas Meier (Media Officer). Responsible at Havas Worldwide Zurich: Frank Bodin (overall responsibility), Folker Wrage (CCO), Michael Kathe (CD), Silja Rast (text), Joy Guerotto (art direction), Alexandra Hofmänner (consulting), Toni Gadza, Noemi Rubera (print production).
50 years of the Swiss Commission for Fair Trading
The official history of the Fairness Commission begins with its first constituent meeting on September 1, 1966. However, KS Kommunikation Schweiz - then known as the Swiss Advertising Association - was already ensuring fair advertising from 1925. Its first motto was "VERITAS - Truth in Advertising". Today, three chambers judge around 100 complaints per year. Equal representation is given to the industry organizations for consumers, media professionals/PR and commercial communications. They are supported by a panel of experts, including from the Federal Office of Public Health, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, the City of Zurich's Equal Opportunities Office, the Lottery and Betting Commission Comlot, and the Institute for Intellectual Property, all of whom work without compensation. The Swiss Fair Trading Commission has been chaired by National Councilor Christine Bulliard-Marbach since 2012.
