Greetings!
I would like to begin this update by thanking each and every one of you who took the time to sign and promote this petition. It has been a long period of time to go without any kind of update, the reason for which I will explain in full.
I started this petition back on March 24, 2024 after contacting CBC regarding the inappropriateness of the Casino Days advertisement. CBC's response was that since they were only airing the advertisement after 9pm, that they did not see a problem with continuing to run the ad.
After attempting various avenues to lodge a complaint, I was finally directed to the Ad Standards organization. According to their website:
"Ad Standards is the only national not-for-profit advertising self-regulatory organization in Canada. Our mission is to ensure advertising in Canada is truthful, fair and accurate.
Supported by our members, we enhance legal compliance and ethical advertising practices, and build the public’s confidence in Canadian advertising across all media.
How We Accomplish Our Mission
Complaints
We review all consumer complaints against the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, which sets the criteria for acceptable advertising in Canada."
After filing my complaint, I was informed that I was bound by confidentiality while the complaint was under review by the organization, and that if confidentiality was violated, that the review process would be halted. As such, I was unable to issue any updates regarding the petition under such time that Ad Standards had completed their review.
On July 29, 2024, I received a response from Ad Standards, which included changes which Casino Days had pledged to make as a result of the complaint against them. Some of the changes included restricting all advertising on all networks to the after-9pm time slot in order to avoid airings during family-focused broadcasts, and limiting the frequency of the advertisement. Also of note was their agreement to terminate the 30-second version of the advertisement, which was much worse than the shorter version.
Ad Standards gave me the option of accepting the concessions made by Casino Days, or to request a review by the independent Standards Council. which is "comprised of experienced volunteers from the advertising industry and the public " and "plays a vital role in ensuring a balanced and fair judgment when reviewing complaints from the public."
In choosing to request a review by the independent Council, I wrote the following:
"While encouraged that the complaint has resulted in some concessions by the advertiser, the question which must be asked is whether the advertisement in question violates community standards.
As stated previously, the type of parody presented in the advertisement is of such an inappropriate subject matter that it lowers the bar for all television advertising broadcast standards. If allowed to continue, it opens the door to even more inappropriate material.
As such, limited the number of times the advertisement runs or setting a later time for the airing of the advertisement does not change the inappropriate nature of the advertisement, and it is the duty of the independent Standards Council to review this decision in light of the above.
I look forward to a favourable analysis by the review committee."
After a number of attempts to follow up with Ad Standards, I was finally sent a copy of the final decision on March 21, 2025, in which the Committee ruled that the Casino Days advertisement does NOT violate community standards.
More specifically, the Committee's decision was based upon the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. According to the Ad Standard website,
"The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (“Code”) was developed to promote the professional practice of advertising, and was first published in 1963. It is reviewed and revised periodically to keep it contemporary. The Code is administered by Advertising Standards Canada (Ad Standards). Ad Standards is the industry body committed to creating and maintaining community confidence in advertising.
The Code sets the criteria for acceptable advertising and forms the basis upon which advertising is evaluated in response to consumer complaints and complaints between advertisers. It is widely endorsed by advertisers, advertising agencies, media that exhibit advertising, and suppliers to the advertising process. The Code is not intended to replace the many laws and guidelines designed to regulate advertising in Canada. Nor are the Code’s provisions intended to override any other aspect of Canada’s preclearance and regulatory apparatus. For information about Ad Standards’ preclearance services, click here."
According to the Committee, the Casino Days ad was reviewed under Code 14(d), which states:
"14. Unacceptable Depictions and Portrayals
It is recognized that advertisements may be distasteful without necessarily conflicting with the provisions of this Clause 14; and the fact that a particular product or service may be offensive to some people is not sufficient grounds for objecting to an advertisement for that product or service.
Advertisements shall not:
(d) undermine human dignity; or display obvious indifference to, or encourage, gratuitously and without merit, conduct or attitudes that offend the standards of public decency prevailing among a significant segment of the population."
The decision by the Committee is final and is not subject to further review.
On a positive note, I have not seen the Casino Days advertisement in question run on CBC for quite some time now. They have replaced it with more consumer-friendly ads to which no one would object.
Although it is possible for Casino Days to run the offensive ad once again at some time in the future, for now, we can gratefully say that they have chosen to go a different route.
Thank you once again to one and all for your contribution to this cause!
Mark Kahabka