On March 28, 2018, Ad Standards introduced new Disclosure
Guidelines (the "Guidelines"). Developed with the
cooperation of influencers and advertisers, the Guidelines are
intended to provide suggested best practices for when, and how, to
disclose any material connection between an advertiser or brand and
the influencer.
The Guidelines inform an Interpretation Guideline under the
Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (the
"Code"), issued in October 2016, requiring that any
"material connection" between an influencer and a brand
be "clearly and prominently disclosed in close proximity to
the representation about the product or service." The
Interpretation Guideline says what to do, but suggested looking to
other sources including the FTC's Guide to Testimonials &
Endorsements for how to do it. The new Guidelines provide a
Canadian resource, with illustrative examples of "dos"
and "don'ts" to assist industry in complying with the
Code.
