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ARTICLE · 26 APRIL 2000

For Your Attention January 2000: Risky Jokes In Advertising

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CanadaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
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By E. Susan Vogt , [email protected]

Published 1/1/00

For Your Attention

When is a joke not a joke? In the wake of recent U.S. cases and Advertising Standards Canada decisions, advertisers may be legally required to underestimate the public’s sense of humour. If your ad contains a joke which could be misconstrued, you might be inviting a lawsuit. Or a complaint to Advertising Standards Canada.

In the mid 1990s, Pepsi launched a loyalty program called Pepsi Points. The program offered the usual rewards for collecting on-pack "points": mid-priced merchandise like mugs and jackets. The ad campaign included a television commercial which explained the program and ended with a shot of a Harrier jet with the exact astronomical number of "points" required to claim it; several hundred million or billion.

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