Category Archives: Advertising Law

January 12, 2020

Influencer Advertising: Competition Act Compliance Now a Material Concern For Brands and Agencies

Over the past several years, competition enforcement agencies have been increasing their scrutiny of false and misleading influencer marketing.  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initially led the charge in terms of guidance and enforcement, which included its Endorsement Guides, Endorsement Guides FAQs and warning … Read the rest of this entry »

January 5, 2020

What Is Required For Express Consent Under CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law)?

CANADIAN CASL (ANTI-SPAM LAW) PRECEDENTS Do you need a precedent or checklist to comply with CASL (Canadian anti-spam law)? We offer Canadian anti-spam law (CASL) precedents and checklists to help electronic marketers comply with CASL.  These include checklists and precedents for express consent requests (including … Read the rest of this entry »

January 1, 2020

Influencer Advertising: Competition Bureau Increases Pressure on Brands and Agencies to Comply with the Competition Act

Practical Law Canada has published a New Legal Update, which discusses the Competition Bureau’s new guidelines for influencer advertising. While the Bureau’s new guidelines largely reiterate previous guidance provided by the Bureau, its announcement also suggests increasing scrutiny on not only influencers that fail to … Read the rest of this entry »

January 1, 2020

Why Are Skill-testing Questions Required For Canadian Contests/Sweepstakes?

Skill-testing questions are usually, but not always, required to operate a contest in Canada.  They are commonly required and administered to potential winners before being declared a winner to avoid the illegal lottery offences under the Canadian federal Criminal Code (Code). In general, the Code prohibits games of … Read the rest of this entry »

December 25, 2019

Overview of Misleading Advertising Laws in Canada

The federal Competition Act  is one of the main statutes, among others, regulating advertising law in Canada.  The Competition Act contains criminal and civil sections that prohibit false or misleading representations and deceptive marketing practices.  These are frequently referred to as the Competition Act’s misleading advertising provisions.  The … Read the rest of this entry »

September 10, 2019

Should Advertising Regulators Enforce Wokeness?: Canadian Lawyer

In my new Canadian Lawyer column, I discuss two recent U.K. ASA advertising decisions with potential implications for Canada relating to “wokeness” and advertising.  Below is an excerpt with a link to my column. ***************** In an interesting development, two ads were recently banned under new … Read the rest of this entry »

August 18, 2019

Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL): Common Compliance Errors

CANADIAN CASL (ANTI-SPAM LAW) PRECEDENTS Do you need a precedent or checklist to comply with CASL (Canadian anti-spam law)? We offer Canadian anti-spam law (CASL) precedents and checklists to help electronic marketers comply with CASL.  These include checklists and precedents for express consent requests (including … Read the rest of this entry »

June 27, 2019

Ticketmaster Agrees to Pay $4 Million Penalty to Settle Drip Pricing Case (Upfront Pricing Case)

On June 27, 2019, the Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that Ticketmaster L.L.C., TNow Entertainment Group, Inc. and Ticketmaster Canada LP have agreed to pay a $4 million penalty and $500,000 of the Bureau’s costs relating to allegedly misleading online ticket sale pricing claims. See Ticketmaster to … Read the rest of this entry »