Marketing & advertising

ICC Consolidated Code 2011 Global Launch Review

  • 11 November 2016
ICC Consolidated Code 2011 Global Launch Review

The ICC Consolidated Code on Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice 2011 was launched in September 2011 in Santiago, Chile and has since been launched in over a dozen countries across five continents.

Advertising and marketing self-regulation is a system by which the advertising, marketing, agency and media industry set voluntary rules and standards of practice that go beyond their legal obligations. Self-regulatory organizations (SROs) are responsible for enforcing industry’s commitment to these rules. They offer consumers increased protection and a cost-effective, accessible, and responsive alternative to legal avenues. Depending on the country, SROs provide some or all of the following services to their communities: respond to complaints, monitor advertising, initiate their own investigations, give copy advice — all aimed at efficiently helping to prevent and correct problems.

The Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice requires marketing to be honest, decent, legal, and truthful, along with a number of more focused provisions on everything from digital advertising to environmental marketing. Since its introduction in 1937, it has served as the foundation and cornerstone for the codes of most self-regulatory systems around the world. Recently, it served as the foundation of the China Responsible Marketing Code endorsed by the Chinese advertising industry in April 2011.

This review details the global launch efforts in 2011 and the subsequent actions taken by local self-regulatory organizations. Information on further launch efforts in 2012 is provided in the Marketing Commission blog.

Eight language versions of the Code have since been published. These translations, along with other useful self-regulatory materials, are available on the ICC Codes Centre website.