Tasteless Advertising from CAs: coming soon?!
This year I'm enjoying springtime as a CA for the first time, which
means I get to vote on the updated 2009 ICAO bylaws and in the election
of 2009 ICAO Council Candidates. There are eight candidates running to fill six spots on the ICAO's council, but I'm not here to talk about the election - though reading the biographies of the candidates definitely is an impressive way to answer the CA student's question, "what exactly will I do after I get my designation?"
Instead, I'm going to look at the fifth of five amendments being proposed: Bylaw Five of 2009.
In summary, it will "remove the references to the vague and subjective
requirement that advertising not contravene 'professional good taste',
while retaining the requirement that advertising must not be false or
misleading or make unfavourable reflections on the competence or
integrity of the profession or any member or firm." (Emphasis mine)
Another classy beer ad
Neil and I have both commented in the past about the advertising programs the CA profession embarks upon, and that this is one of the more amusing rules that all CA students should be aware of - you can't bad mouth the competition, and for now, the Rule of Professional Conduct states that advertising by CAs must be in "professional good taste."
My accounting profs in university explained that this is why in Ontario you don't see ads by CAs that make you roll your eyes in disgust, like those "slip and fall" ambulance chasing lawyer ads you'll find on the back of the Yellow Pages or on TV, usually being broadcast from Buffalo. Lawyers are fine people, but a few of their kind make the rest look bad with garish ads which CAs have been fairly good at avoiding.
My little headline is of course a joke - the provision that you should not allow people to have an "unfavourable reflection" on any and all CAs effectively means that the ad should be in good taste, in the sense of honesty.
Technically all this allows you to indulge in, assuming the bylaw passes this spring's 'referendum' vote, will be garishly designed but honest advertising.
Judging from the incredibly pointed response CAs had for the new branding and the designation's own marketing campaign, though, it can be easily argued that CAs are an unusually stylish bunch who would never stoop to associating with anything cheesy or truly tasteless.
So our senses are safe for yet another day. At least until the next federal election campaign gets underway - political ads are the worst thing I end up seeing these days.