AD GROUP LEGAL APPEAL
By Adnews Staff
An ad industry coalition is seeking to appeal a decision by an Alberta court that ruled contests for merchandise with no purchase necessary are illegal. Until a final decision is reached, advertisers should be careful about conducting contests and should check with their lawyers about this situation, says the coalition which consists of the Canadian Direct Marketing Association, the Association of Canadian Advertisers, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Institute of Canadian Advertising at the moment. Their goal is to make sure that the ruling doesn't have a general affect on advertisers running contests. They are concerned that the reasons given by the trial judge in the case are broad enough to challenge the longstanding practices of national advertisers. The legal case concerned a poet who sold his book in shopping malls. To promote sales, he ran a sweepstake with a car as a prize. Entries could be obtained by buying the book, asking for an entry form, or by providing a facsimile entry. The judge found that the poet was discouraging people from entering the contest without purchasing the book. The complainant in the case thought the promotion was for charity when she bought her ticket. When she found out it was not, she complained to authorities.