01/05/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/05/2024 07:33
After going through three rounds of consultation, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has announced that the following codes have been adopted and will replace the existing Children and Young People's Advertising Code and the food rules in the Advertising Standards Code:
The codes have a simmering focus on protecting children from various forms of advertising and will apply to new advertising from 1 August 2024 and all other advertising from 1 November 2024.
Advertising in New Zealand is regulated by the ASA, which is a self-regulatory body. The ASA Codes Committee-which consists of advertiser, agency, media and public representatives-is responsible for developing various advertising codes (in consultation with industry and public sectors) which set rules and expectations to ensure every advertisement is a responsible advertisement.
While codes are not laws per se, they set important expectations and industry standards for how businesses in New Zealand should operate when advertising their goods and/or services. ASA members consist of associations and incorporated entities which represent a large proportion of the media and advertising industries in Aotearoa. According to the ASA, the "function of the codes is to complement, not to replace, the laws of the land".
The two new codes form part of the bundle of advertising codes developed by the ASA Codes Committee.
The existing Children and Young People's Advertising Code has a wide scope which is intended to be split up by the introduction of the two new codes. The effect of the existing code is that it:
The Advertising Standards Code also broadly covers claims made about food and beverages, requiring them to be factual, not misleading, and able to be substantiated when made.
As with any recipe, if you try to add too many ingredients, the dish becomes unfocused, overwhelming and difficult to enjoy. We assume this is the exact analogy the ASA was thinking of when it decided to develop two separate codes.
The newly refined Children's Advertising Code updates the previous code by:
The new Food Advertising Code collects and combines the aspects previously included across the different codes relating to food and beverage advertisements. As a standalone, the Food Advertising Code:
The new codes present more robust requirements for advertisers - particularly for advertisements that are targeted at children. Given the rules are intended to set industry expectations for advertisements of this nature, we recommend taking these changes seriously.
As mentioned above, the new codes will come into effect from 1 August 2024 for new advertisements and 1 November 2024 for all other advertisements. If you are unsure how these Codes will affect your business, we are here to help. Get in touch with Hayley Miller, Jenni Rutter, Gunes Haksever or Ashleigh Ooi. We can review your marketing material, advise you on your obligations under these codes, provide training for your staff, and more...
This article was written by Lavi Abitbol, a solicitor in our Technology, Media and Telecommunications team.