"This new Code is welcomed and is an industry wide acknowledgement of the need for advertising to keep in line with public policy concerns," said Duncan Grehan, GALA Vice Chairman Elect and Principal at Duncan Grehan & Partners Solicitors in Dublin, Ireland.
It has widened the Code's definition of 'gender', following recent complaints regarding transgender issues in advertisements. The Code already stated that advertisements should not cause offence on the grounds of gender but its expanded definition now includes "people who have a gender identity different to the gender assigned at birth and those people who wish to portray their gender identity in a different way to the gender assigned at birth."
Changes to the Code also include new rules on:
• Gambling advertising, which now require warnings regarding responsible gaming and prohibits any suggestion that gambling is a "rite of passage"
• Food advertising
• Children's advertising
• Health and beauty products
"Global marketers should take note of the important changes to the Code, which will have significant impact on campaigns in Ireland in the coming year," said Jeffrey A. Greenbaum, GALA Chairman and Managing Partner of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz in New York.
