On 22nd March, Spain adopted an “Equality Law” which takes the universally recognized principle of sexual equality and develops it in a number of areas, including advertising and the media.

 

On “equality and the media,” Article 41 stipulates that “advertising that falls in breach with this law will be considered illicit advertising, in accordance with that which is foreseen in the general law on advertising…”

 

Article 39 states that “all means of communication will respect equality between women and men, avoiding any form of discrimination […] Public administrations will promote the adoption by the media of self-regulatory measures that contribute to compliance with this legislation, including the sales and advertising activities which take place through these communication channels.”

 

Under Article 40, it calls on the authorities responsible for monitoring and regulating the audiovisual media to “adopt measures to ensure the treatment of women in accordance with constitutional principles and values.”

 

Under the Television without Frontiers Directive (now the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive), Article 16 deals with the protection of minors. This new law adds a new provision under Article 16.1 in Spain, stating that “advertising or telesales directed to children must give an equal, plural and non-stereotyped image of women and men”.

 

With WFA assistance, the Spanish Advertisers Association (AEA) is currently working with Autocontrol (the Spanish SRO) and the Spanish toy industry on the criteria to be applied in order to implement the law through a self-regulatory code.

 

For more information, please feel to contact w.gilroy@wfanet.org or Juan Ramon Plana at the Asociacion Espanol de Anunciantes (AEA) at jramonp@anunciantes.com