Brands are a fundamental part of the European Union’s economy and play a key role in the everyday choices of each of us as consumers. We, the members of the Brands Matter Working Group, aim to advocate to European policy makers the importance of brands in a free and economically sustainable society.
Brands serve two dual purposes. First and foremost, brands help consumers navigate the huge array of product choices we make every day. They provide us with vital guidance as to the safety and quality of the products we consume and use on a daily basis. Secondly, brand equity creates intangible value for European businesses by generating product awareness and securing customer loyalty.
We have serious concerns about any legislative measure that could potentially have a detrimental impact on the value and visibility of brands. Policies that are adopted without considering all the evidence inevitably lead to unintended consequences that may prove harmful to consumers. We want to shape a brand policy which focuses on evidence and the benefits that brands bring to European consumers and European job creation.
Therefore we invite policy makers in Europe to take the brand protection pledge: “I commit to oppose any policy measure that limits brand freedom.” In the coming months we are going to list all policy makers that have already taken the pledge here.
When Donald Trump claimed in September 2020 that every American would have access to vaccines by April 2021, his comments received scorn. The Washington Post said his claims were “without evidence,” CNN quoted health experts who said it was impossible, and The New York Times claimed it would take...
In recent years, there has been welcome attention paid to how worker safety and rights are protected in countries that trade with Europe…. While most trade takes place within legal and regulated channels, there remains an entire sector of the global economy that peddles in knock-offs and illicit goods....
The WHO yet again disappoints by keeping vital information from a very vulnerable demographic — new moms. Dear World Health Organization, These last few months have revealed many problems with your policies and recommendations. Thousands of people around the world are mourning the deaths of their loved ones, which...
It’s been almost three months since most of the world went on complete or partial lockdown. The economic consequences of the pandemic have been devastating, with millions of people losing jobs, individuals losing livelihoods, and businesses going bankrupt. The good news is that the digitalisation of our societies, and...
Global health advocates do not have their priorities straight, argues Bill Wirtz With the recent news that has revealed the structural deficiencies of the World Health Organisation (WHO), one would believe the UN’s global health body would be interested in laying low on other issues that would make it unpopular....
The value of packaging design goes beyond pretty pictures says Fred Roeder When people talk about the importance of design, people will often point to iconic logos and branding that we now take for granted, whether it’s the Coca Cola motif, Mr Pringles crisps or Jack Daniels bottles. But...
The Lancet’s new “A Future for the World’s Children?” report is once again some heavy nanny-stating. But this time, it goes right into real-life parody, argues Bill Wirtz. The once well respected, but increasingly loony Lancet has in recent years endorse some of the harshest Nanny State policies around....
Shifting consumer behavior is changing the world of advertising as we know it, says Bill Wirtz. We have come along way in the evolution of the advertising business. The Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters, while the Middle Ages made us transition to town criers...
En tant que consommateur, vous sentez-vous manipulé par la publicité ? Ou bien est-ce un moyen efficace, voire distrayant, de vous offrir ce que vous voulez ? Nous avons fait des progrès dans l’évolution du secteur de la publicité. Les Egyptiens utilisaient le papyrus pour faire des messages de...
CONTACT:Yaël OssowskiDeputy DirectorConsumer Choice Centeryael@consumerchoicecenter.org Washington, D.C. – Earlier this month, Mississippi lawmakers passed onerous labeling laws that will prohibit meat-alternative products, such as veggie burgers and sausages, from using the word “meat” in their marketing and branding. This is part of a larger trend by politicians and industries to limit what...
The Latvian Health Ministry has proposed a ban on all alcohol advertising, including television, radio and online – a move the Consumer Choice Center has criticised. he plans were included in the Latvian Health Ministry’s draft of its national health strategy, and included a proposal to limit the availability...
Maria Chaplia, media associate at the Consumer Choice Center, also voiced her concerns over the report. She said that nannying consumers by taking the responsibility for food choices off their shoulders is “a curse in disguise”. “There is no one who denies the importance of addressing obesity. Yet there...
In response to the report, Maria Chaplia, media associate at the Consumer Choice Center, said: “The British obesity problem is rooted in the lack of physical activity, not in consumption preferences. According to Public Health England, physical activity in the UK declined by 24% since the 1960s. By pushing...
The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) has revealed the names of the 25 signatories of the ‘Brands Matter’ pledge. The CCC is aiming to gain support for the cause of brand freedom in the European Parliament and get clear responses from lawmakers on this vital consumer issue. Commenting on the pledge, Luca Bertoletti, European Affairs Manager of the […]
Advertising bans are increasingly relevant in political debate, with some countries having already established rules that don’t allow for “junk food” advertising. But these proposals are all based on the assumptions that consumers are buying goods that they never would have wanted otherwise, writes Bill Wirtz. The fundamental question is: Can you make people buy something […]
Consumer Choice Center presents signatories of “Brands Matter” pledge Brussels, BE – The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) has revealed the names of the 25 signatories of the “Brands Matter” pledge. The CCC is aiming to gain support for the cause of brand freedom in the European Parliament, and get clear responses from lawmakers on this vital […]
While Singapore celebrates Intellectual Property Week in September 2018 aiming to become one of the global champions of intellectual property rights and investor confidence the Singaporean Ministry of Health pushes at the same time for a policy that would lead to the opposite and significantly weaken Singapore’s leadership in innovation friendliness and brand freedom in […]
DIE WELT: Die Gesundheitsminister der Europäischen Union haben Vorschläge für die Regulierung der Vermarktung von sogenanntem Junkfood vorgelegt, in denen Beschränkungen von Werbung solcher Produkte gefordert werden.
THE EUROPEAN: “Befürworter der öffentlichen Gesundheit” wollen gegen eine massive Gefahr vorgehen: Zeichentrickfiguren auf Packungen von Getreideflocken, wie zum Beispiel die der Marke Kellogg’s. Angeblich haben es Tony der Tiger, Sonny der Kuckuck Vogel, Cap’n Crunch oder Graf Chocula alle auf unsere Kinder abgesehen.
SPIKED: Public-health advocates are moving in on the one danger we’ve all been missing: cereal-box cartoon characters. That’s right, Tony the Tiger, Cap’n Crunch, Count Chocula, and Snap, Crackle and Pop are all after our children. But, luckily, the European Union, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Jamie Oliver are here to protect us.
LA LIBRE: Ils sont les meilleurs juges de l’éducation de leurs enfants. Restreindre la publicité de produits dits “junk food” dans le but de protéger les enfants est une défiance vis-à-vis du jugement des parents.
AMBULANCE TODAY: Bill Wirtz, Policy Analyst for the Consumer Choice Center (CCC) says it’s regrettable that the Council chooses a paternalistic approach over education.
EURACTIV: The EU should protect its brands as they have a great potential to make Europe competitive worldwide, right-wing MEP Stefano Maullu told EURACTIV.com in the context of the continuing ‘branding versus consumer welfare’ debate. The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) NGO recently launched the Brands Matter Working Group, whose main objective is to oppose the spread of […]
SPIKED: It has boosted the black market while failing to stub out smoking rates, writes Bill Wirtz of the Consumer Choice Center.
POLITICO: Daniel Hannan, a British ECR MEP, questioned the so-called obesity epidemic often cited in the U.K. and other Western countries, doubting that “there is a medical justification for this assault on consumer’s choice” represented by sugar taxes or minimum alcohol prices. “Even if it’s true that we’re getting fatter, is that really the role of […]
EURACTIV: When consumers make decisions in the marketplace, they are voting with their wallets, writes Yaël Ossowski. Ossowski is the deputy director for the Consumer Choice Center. He wrote this op-ed ahead of the Brand Freedom Day conference on 6 June in Brussels. In a system of voluntary exchange, only consumers can decide if a company fails […]
CAMPAIGN: The policy was blasted by transatlantic anti-regulation campaign group Consumer Choice Center, with managing director Fred Roeder calling it “heavy-handed and paternalistic”.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW: Consumers’ right to choose among different brands and regulators’ intent to control our consumptions clash more often than would think. Singapore banning certain acronyms such as IQ and cartoon figures likes teddy bears from baby milk powder is just one of the latest threats to brand and labeling freedom.
