The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) teamed up with the International Advertising Association (IAA) in Beijing the day after the IAA 43rd World Advertising Congress to bring together international stakeholders, local government officials, companies and experts to discuss responsible marketing in China.
Now published in 12 languages, the ICC Code is the gold standard for self-regulation around the world. It offers a globally consistent baseline for economies developing standards while also providing flexibility for local laws and culture to be reflected in a local code.
“Having just launched the first official Mandarin translation of the Consolidated ICC Code of Marketing Practice at the congress, this meeting gave ICC an opportunity to familiarize Chinese stakeholders with the ICC code,” said Elizabeth Thomas-Raynaud, senior policy manager of the Marketing and Advertising Commission who presented the code and moderated the event. “The timing was right with foreign experts in town and positive local interest among the key government and company stakeholders in exploring the topic further and facilitating more cooperation.”
Among the 40 participants of the IAA/ICC Dialogue on Responsible Marketing and Advertising were two top Chinese government officials from State Council and State Administration for Industry and Commerce, who are responsible for overseeing the proposed revision of the China Advertising Law expected to go before the National People’s Congress in June for its first reading.
ICC Marketing Commission members Oliver Gray, European Advertising Standards Alliance director-general and co-chair of the task force responsible for developing ICC marketing codes, and Stephane Martin, directeur general of French Self-regulatory body ARPP, were present to address questions on implementing the code into local legal and cultural contexts. Also participating was Ian Allwill, Chairman of the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau, which initiated the APEC project on advertising standards. Allwill spoke of the trade benefits the global ICC Code could provide if implemented as a consistent base for locally applied self-regulation across the Asia-Pacific region.
Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke