In its annual Complaints Report for 2024, Ad Standards named retail as the industry most cited in complaints. In 2024, that industry received 21% of the 612 total complaints submitted to Ad Standards.
The next highest industries were influencer marketing, advocacy and health products, each at 7%; and gambling and telecom, each at 6%. Ad Standards introduced a new Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising last month.
The annual report details the number and nature of complaints it received from consumers about advertisers and how they were addressed.
After initial review, 25% of complaints in 2024 were outside the scope of the code and redirected to third parties, such as those about the marketing of vaping products, which fall under the purview of Health Canada. That left 422 valid complaints about 321 ads. Of those, 67% were deemed to have no issue under the code; 7% were resolved administratively based on corrective actions from the advertisers; and 8% went no further because they were either satisfied by the advertisers’ response or were missing information and could not proceed.
The remaining 18% – or 54 ads – were referred to the Standards Council for adjudication. Of these, 46 ads were found to contravene one or more provisions of the code.
The majority of complaints accepted for review under the code related to ads alleged to be either misleading under Clause 1 (Accuracy and Clarity), offensive under Clause 14 (Unacceptable Depictions or Portrayals) or deceptive in their pricing or discounts under Clause 3 (Price Claims).
The largest group of complaints (25%) expressed concerns that ads were offensive. An example of an ad deemed non-compliant by the council was an email listing a selection of products on Amazon Canada that included a men’s sleeveless undershirt described as a “wife beater.”
The second largest group (22%) involved promotional offers, followed by concerns over influencer-related ads (12%), deceptive price claims or discounts (11%) and accuracy and clarity (9%).
For all complaints that raise a potential issue under the provisions of the code, advertisers are required to provide a written response. Those that cannot be resolved administratively are referred to the independent Standards Council for formal adjudication. If the council determines, by majority vote, that the advertisement contravenes one or more clauses of the code, the advertiser is asked to withdraw the ad.
Advertisers can appeal decisions, and their identities are not disclosed in the council’s decisions unless an ad has been found to violate the code and the advertiser does not voluntarily change or withdraw it.
The Canadian advertising industry’s non-profit self-regulatory body sets the criteria for acceptable advertising practices and administers the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
