We’ve all been left disappointed by food items that look nothing like the product featured in a commercial or magazine ad, but Canadians took a stand against meagre sandwich fillings and other dining duplicity last year, according to Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).
In the latest edition of its annual Ad Complaints Report, ASC said complaints about the way food items were portrayed in ads versus real life were a “hot topic” in 2015, with Quebeckers particularly vigilant.
Subway Canada was among the fast-food organizations singled out by ASC, which upheld five complaints against the QSR giant for a TV commercial that complainants said exaggerated the amount of lobster contained in one of its sandwiches.
“Of course, quick service restaurants seek their products in the best possible light, and Council understands that the same time and care cannot possibly go into making a sandwich at a restaurant as at a photo shoot,” the report concluded. “Nonetheless, the advertising must reasonably resemble what someone can expect to be served at the restaurant.”
In total, ASC received 1,774 complaints about 1,135 advertisements in 2015, with 1,268 complaints meeting the criteria for acceptance under the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
The remaining 560 complaints were not pursued by ASC because they did not fall within code acceptance criteria. These included: Complaints in which a specific ad was not identified; complaints about foreign ads or political or election ads; and complaints about ads that did not meet the code definition of advertising.
The ASC’s independent councils adjudicated 291 complaints about 77 ads, 242 of which were upheld about 50 ads. An additional 134 complaints about 122 ads were resolved administratively.
The majority of complaints received by ASC pertained to accuracy and clarity and price claims, with the organization ultimately upholding 167 complaints about 43 ads. Unacceptable depictions and portrayals generated 453 complaints, 92 of which were upheld against seven ads.
Subway was among several organizations identified by the ASC in the report, since the ads in question were not withdrawn or amended even though the organization’s independent councils found they contravened the advertising code.
Subway disagreed with the ASC decision, saying in a statement that the sandwich was made in “exact accordance” with the formula it directs franchisees to use in their restaurants. “We do not think that our advertisements are misleading in any way,” it said.
Other organizations identified by ASC as violating that advertising code include Canadian Tire Corporation, Cash Money Cheque Cashing, Mars Petcare and Sears Canada.
The group also listed a series of non-identified cases in which advertisers either withdrew, permanently retired, or “appropriately amended” advertisements in question after being advised by ASC that a complaint had been received, but before the matter was adjudicated by council.
The organization also received what it described as an “unusually high” number of complaints about ads for not-for-profit groups last year. For the first time, there were more complaints about non-commercial organizations, 273 (94 of which were upheld), than any other category.
Among the complaints upheld by ASC were complaints about an advocacy organization’s out-of-home ad claiming the sun, not human activity, was the principal driver of climate change, and that global warming stopped naturally 16 years ago.
It also upheld a complaint against a different advocacy organization that claimed via transit ads that consumption of animal products was a leading contributor to climate change. “After carefully considering the evidence submitted by the advertisers, Council found that the categorical and unequivocal claims could not be supported by the preponderance of current evidence,” said the ASC report.
Retail advertising attracted 210 complaints, followed by cars, motorized vehicles and automotive products and services (114).
TV commercials generated 671 complaints, almost double the amount of complaints about digital advertising (348), followed by direct marketing (248), out-of-home (221), brochures/flyers (110) and radio (94). Newspaper ads generated 94 complaints, while magazines generated 19.
