EACA Monthly Newsletter October - November 2002

EU News

Europe Rejects Drug Advertising
The European Parliament voted on the European Commission's proposals to reform European legislation on pharmaceutical products. The MEPs voted against a European Commission plan to ease the current EU-wide ban on drug advertising by allowing "disease education information" to reach people suffering from three illnesses - Aids, diabetes and asthma. The Commission welcomed this vote, but hopes that agreement on a series of important issues may be reached in the future. The proposals consist of one Regulation and two Directives. The vote was the first of two readings of the European Parliament under the co-decision procedure. The proposals now need to be endorsed by the EU's Council of Ministers before the European Parliament may complete its second reading.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,7492,817649,00.html

New Rapporteur on the Green Paper on Consumer Protection
The Legal Affairs Committee of the EP confirmed the choice of Ms Marianne Thyssen (EPP, Belgium) as its Rapporteur on the Green Paper on Consumer Protection. Meanwhile, the Environment and Consumer Affairs Committee Rapporteur on the Green Paper, Ms Béatrice Patrie (PSE, France), has written her first draft Report on the Green Paper. Ms Patrie broadly supports the proposal but makes some additional suggestions, including: all MS provisions that give greater protection to consumers must be maintained; prior information must be requested in certain cases; a blacklist of unfair practices; the right of consumer groups, individuals and MS to take action; a preference for co-regulation, self-regulatory codes must be approved by the EC and rejection of non-binding guidance.

Publication of TVWF Study
The study on 'Outlook of the development of technologies and markets for the European Audiovisual sector up to 2010' has now been published on the Commission's website. The report was commissioned in order to help to assess the need for a revision of the Television Without Frontiers Directive. The first part of the report assesses the current audio-visual market (1995-2000), by segmenting the 18 countries of the EU and EEA in comparable audio-visual markets and then analysing the interactions between key media operators in order to understand their current relative market strengths. The second part identifies the key technology and economic evolutions likely to cause disruption in the future. The third part of the study uses the model to develop an understanding of the likely future of the industry up to 2010. Click here for more information.

Commissioner Reding Announces Imminent Publication of the TVWF Report
During a speech given at the `Medientage' in Munich, Commissioner Viviane Reding announced the imminent publication of the report on the application of the Television Without Frontiers Directive, together with a work plan for next year. The plan will give several options for future regulation. Two major aspects will be considered:
- The area of application for future Community regulation. Rather than limiting the scope to television content only, the possibility of a `content without frontiers' is mentioned here.
- The levels and instruments of future legislation. The option of mixing legislation with self- and co-regulation will be considered. A consultation process will be undertaken next year that will include a series of hearings.
Mrs. Reding also intends to present a proposal for a future support instrument to supplement the Media Plus programme, which will come to an end in 2005, linked in a `content package' based on the consultation results.

http://www.medientage-muenchen.de/

European Parliament Votes Medina Report
The EP Legal Affairs Committee adopted the report by Manuel Medina Ortega (PSE, Spain) on the draft EC proposal for a tobacco advertising directive. MEPs voted to limit the scope of the directive to cases with `significant trans-border effects' and to exclude from it any advertising only indirectly related to promoting tobacco products. On the print media, the report proposes that the Member States can limit advertising to publications intended exclusively for the tobacco trade but could not prevent the sale of printed media carrying tobacco ads from other Member States, provided the publication is not chiefly aimed at the market in question. The report also confirms that commercial information available to the public through the Internet about tobacco products does not count as advertising. The committee voted to ban radio tobacco advertising with a substantial cross-border impact and radio tobacco sponsorship where the programmes are targeted across borders. The report allows for a measure of indirect brand advertising and event sponsorship without cross-border impact. Read more.

European Parliament Adopts Draft Directive on Medicinal Products for Human Use
The Report by Françoise Grossetête (EPP, France) on a draft directive relating to medicinal products for human use was adopted on 23 October by the EP plenary. The EP rejected the Commission proposal to allow AIDS, asthma or diabetes treatment or medicine information to be sent to patients by pharmaceutical companies. The Report defines as advertising `any kind of communication on diseases, therapeutic strategies and medicinal products coming from a pharmaceutical company`. The Report supported a plan to streamline procedures for medicines approval, by referring all new active ingredients in medicines to the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal products (EMEA). The Report defines as advertising `any kind of communication on diseases, therapeutic strategies and medicinal products coming from a pharmaceutical company`. The Report will be considered by the Council before its second and final reading next year.

FEDMA and EPMA Ally to Lobby for EU Sales Promotion
Europe?s two principal below-the-line trade bodies, FEDMA (Federation of European Direct Marketing Associations) and EPMA (the European Promotional Marketing Alliance) joined forces to lobby for a positive outcome to the proposed Regulation on Sales Promotion.

http://www.fedma.org/img/db/181002FEDMAEPMAcooperation.pdf

EACA and Members News

The Face Behind the Façade : a Successful EACA Conference
The annual EACA Conference of 3-4 October was a great success. Communicating with Children and Sustainable Development were the focus of the annual conference of the European Association of Communication Agencies at the Hotel Conrad in Brussels on Friday, 4 October 2002. Experts representing the different sectors from advertising, electronic commerce, industry, consumers, governmental experts and international organisations attended the conference.

http://www.eaca.be/conference.html

14 Gold Awards Highlighting European Sales Promotion Strength
14 outstanding sales promotion campaigns from eight European countries took gold medals at the EFSP Awards 2002, supported by the EACA, at the Salon de la Publicite in Paris last week. Two particular campaigns were short listed by the international jury for the coveted 'Best of the Best Gold Award'. They were the 'Message in a bottle' campaign of Coca Cola from the Belgian Agency Momentum (non alcoholic drinks) and the other was the «Blue Shoes Laces » campaign from the Belgian Agency : The Small Agency (cause and charity category), which created a symbol/ logo that was both memorable and practical - blue shoe laces - to make its point about the work of the charity in helping those who have lost limbs from mines and bombs. This last campaign won also the 'Best of the Best Gold Award'.

Saatchi and Saatchi: winner of the German EFFIEs
On the 25th of October 2002, the GWA organised its 21st Effie Awards. 16 trophies were submitted in this occasion, two gold, seven in silver and seven in bronze, in the 'Theater des Westens', Berlin. Out of 164 contributions for the last round, 44 finalists in eight categories qualified. There was gold only in two categories, in use goods and services. Saatchi and Saatchi and their Audi Campaign won the first Gold Effie while a German Agency, 'Heimat' from Berlin won the second.

IPA Launches New Online Job Service, 'IPA Jobs Online'
IPA launched recently its new online job service, IPA Jobs Online. This service, free to all IPA members, enables them to post and search job vacancies online through a newly created jobs section of the IPA website: www.ipa.co.uk/jobs.The service will also be available for the public to view free of charge although only IPA members will be given administrative access that will allow them to create, post and remove recruitment ads on behalf of their organisations, free of charge.

www.ipa.co.uk

IPA Announces List of over 500 Nominees for its first ever BOB Awards
IPA's launched recently its first ever 'Best of the Best' creative Awards. These awards are a testament to Britain's flourishing creativity and evidence of the high level of creative skill amongst IPA members and the first awards scheme to pull together all of the important creative awards competitions identifying the best work in particular fields of the media.

http://www.ipa.co.uk/index.cfa?directlink=BOBs

IPA Seminar on the Advance of e-media and Interactive TV Research
On October 31, the IPA Digital Marketing Group held a morning seminar for client brand/marketing managers and agency account handlers and planners on the latest developments in interactive marketing. The seminar was run in association with ISBA and sponsored by MSN. For more information see:http://www.ipa.co.uk/index.cfa?directlink=e-mediabrochure. For details of all IPA activities see www.ipa.co.uk.

www.ipa.co.uk

Corporate Social Responsibility

SMEs Demand Voluntary Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility
UEAPME, the 'voice' of crafts, trades and SMEs in Europe, sees the Multi Stakeholder Forum on CSR a good opportunity to point out to the particularities of SMEs with regard to community involvement. Speaking at the opening session of the European Multistakeholder Forum on CSR Hans Werner Mueller, Secretary General of UEAPME expressed his support for a voluntary framework for CSR. UEAPME rejected the idea of applying current CSR tools and approaches, which were designed for large enterprises, to SMEs and called on participants to consider SME specificity. More info.

Children and Advertising

Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue to Propose Resolution of Food Advertising to Children and Obesity
The Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) discussed and drafted a resolution on Food Advertising to Children and Obesity at its annual congress in Washington, 28-30 October 2002 where 60 Government officials from the US and the EU will attended. The TACD?s Food Working Group is currently discussing food advertising to children, with a view to preparing a TACD resolution on food advertising and obesity, which will feed directly into the current global debate over the development by governments of strategies to tackle rising levels of obesity in the EU and the US. The Working Group is in the process of drafting a background paper examining the issues, based on academic research produced by Consumers International and its member organizations.

Italy
Italian Chamber of Deputies Tables Bill on Protection of Children?s Rights in Radio and TV Communications
A Bill on the `Protection of children's rights in radio and TV communications and information' has been tabled by a group of Italian opposition MPs in the Chamber of Deputies. The Bill would impose certain obligations on radio and TV operators in programming and advertising. Suggested advertising restrictions would include: toys, games and educational products for minors should not be misleading as to the product characteristics, the cost of the product and the level of ability needed, radio or TV programmes for children may not be interrupted by advertising, children's programmes may not be sponsored. The bill would also establish a `Commission on the Protection of the Rights of Minors', that would be part of the Italian Broadcasting Authority, and be composed of 12 specialists.

UK
Think Tank Publishes Pamphlet on Advertising and Children
The Social Affairs Unit, a UK based think tank published a pamphlet entitled ’Children & Advertising: The allegations and the evidence‘. The pamphlet, written and researched by Professor Adrian Furnham of University College London, contests arguments to introduce further regulations on advertising to children. He argues that learning how to handle advertisements is educative and a useful part of growing up. The report focuses on the issue of alcohol advertising and young people.

http://www.socialaffairsunit.org.uk/recentpublications.htm

Australia
Public Health Organisation Call for a Total Ban on all Food Advertising to Children
On 2 October the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) called for a ban on all food advertising during children's television viewing times. Dr Peter Sainsbury, President of the PHAA, said the organisation had endorsed the push for an advertising ban in response to increasing rates of overweight and obese children.

Data Protection

U.S.
Tech Protests EU Privacy Laws
A group of American companies is attempting to persuade the European Union to relax its rules governing data protection, claiming they are bad for business. The 10 companies, who dub themselves the Global Privacy Alliance (GPA) and whose members include IBM, Oracle and VeriSign, believe that the EU has put too much emphasis on the protection of individuals' privacy, and not enough on ensuring the free flow of information between companies. The GPA wants several significant changes to be made to EU privacy laws--the simplification of the cross-border flow of data, possibly through industry self-regulation rather than legislation; the harmonization of EU privacy regulation between member states; the relaxation of restrictions on data sharing between affiliate companies, and the exclusion of 'business contact data' from such laws.

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-960134.html

Pharmaceutical Advertising

U.S.
New Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Industry
The inspector-general of the Department of Health and Human Services published new marketing guidelines for the American pharmaceutical industry and warned that some companies' marketing practices could be in breach of federal law. Although the new rules are not statutory, transgressors could nevertheless be prosecuted in respect of federal fraud and corruption laws.

Tobacco Advertising

UK
Parliament approves tobacco ad ban
The tobacco advertising ban in the UK is set to become law by the end of the year after clearing its last serious parliamentary hurdle. The move will end more than 100 years of poster and newspaper advertising, such as the famous campaigns for Marlboro and Benson & Hedges. All cigarette advertising and promotion will be banned under the new law, which the government claims will save 3,000 lives a year and cut National Health Service bills by £340m.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,7492,816847,00.html

Self Regulation

France
French Self Regulatory Body Drafts Self Regulatory Code on Health Claims in Food Advertisements
To address the multiplication of new `health food' products and claims made in ads about their effects on health, the French self-regulatory organisation BVP has decided to draft a self-regulatory code on health claims in food advertisements.

www.bvp.org

Ireland
New Self-Regulatory Body
The Irish drinks industry has established a new independent vetting body for all alcohol advertisements. Media owners have agreed not to use alcohol ads unless they have been passed by the new body, Central Copy Clearance Ireland Ltd.