Advertising To Children And French Language Issues

The following is a synopsis of a presentation given at BLG's Marketing Law News Flashes Conference held on February 28, 2013:

Québec is currently the only Canadian province to have legislation prohibiting advertising directed to children under 13 years of age. Previously not much guidance was provided on the issue by the Québec Consumer Protection Office, but it has now published a Guide on advertising directed to children, which provides merchants, advertisers and lawyers with helpful guidelines and examples. To determine whether an advertisement is directed at children, one must generally consider: (1) the advertisement's design; (2) the general context of the advertisement's presentation; and (3) the general impression given by the advertisement. The Guide sets out all of the many specific criteria that must be considered in such determination. According to the Guide, even if an advertisement is placed in an adult- only publication (e.g., a financial newspaper),