In a country as vast and diverse as Brazil, regulation is key to maintaining high standards in advertising and ensuring that control remains in the hands of industry professionals. In this sense, the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (Conar), a non-profit organization, was created to establish parameters and monitor the ethics of commercial advertising in Brazil.

Conar follows the provisions of the Brazilian Code of Advertising Self-Regulation (CBAP) and its main objective is to avoid advertisements and campaigns with misleading, offensive or abusive content or that disrespect fair competition between advertisers or other guiding principles of business relations.

Financed with the contribution of the main Brazilian advertising entities and associated companies, Conar’s decisions have no enforcement, that is, Conar cannot fine or impose other coercive measures. It is, however, a renowned institution that in 44 years of history has come to be respected and have its decisions respected by advertisers, in the name of the best market practices.

In relation to its decisions, when analyzing a complaint, Conar may, separately or jointly:

  • close the representation, understanding that no rule was violated;
  • recommend changing advertising; or
  • request the suspension of the advertisement.

In 2024, Conar judged more than 180 representations. Of the 131 analyzed for this article, 24 were filed directly by the institution, 22 originated from complaints made by companies from different segments and 85 were filed due to consumer complaints.

Of these 131 representations, 56 resulted in suspension of advertising, 48 in the recommendation for amendment, 26 were archived and one received a warning.

In this article, a totally independent analysis was made based in the decisions published by Conar on its website. It is important to note that not all categories of decisions were examined, and there may be others on the topics addressed that were not disclosed by the agency.

Commitment to social responsibility

One of the most discussed topics this year was the rules for betting advertising. In December 2023, Annex X, which deals with betting, was incorporated into the Brazilian Code of Advertising Self-Regulation. The determinations contained in the annex came into force in January of this year. Since then, Conar has opened more than 60 representations against betting advertising.

Of the 16 representations analyzed on this subject, it was possible to notice that the most recurrent complaints referred to the lack of protection for children and adolescents.

Some representations involved the participation of child influencers, which contradicts the legislative provisions that prohibit the participation of children and adolescents in ads for this type of product - as the activity is prohibited for children and adolescents, the rule determines that the models in advertisements must be and look over 21 years old.

In these representations, those responsible for the minors were also warned, despite claiming that they were unaware of the regulation.

Another highlight in relation to the betting segment was the need to stipulate the use of age selection tools to prevent minors from creating profiles on platforms (age gating), as well as to disseminate phrases about responsible gaming and warning clauses (e.g., "Play responsibly").

The topic is expected to be widely explored in 2025. In view of the recent measures taken by the authorities related to betting advertising – such as the precautionary measures in Direct Actions for the Declaration of Unconstitutionality 7,721 and 7,723 (ADI 7,721 and ADI 7.723) and Technical Note 6/24, from the National Consumer Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice –, Conar's management reaffirmed its commitment to contribute to establishing a regular and responsible advertising environment for the betting segment. Full attention should be given to the need to protect children and other vulnerable persons.

Along these lines, in May of this year, three large companies in the betting segment joined Conar and made public their membership of the entity. According to Sergio Pompillo, current president of Conar, "the formal adherence of betting companies to the ethical standards practiced by Conar is an especially positive sign, demonstrating the rapid maturity and commitment of this important advertising segment to consumers, through responsible advertising".

Another recurring theme in Conar's representations refers to the advertising of alcoholic beverages. Despite being a theme that has already been widely explored, which appears every year in the representations, the need to adopt age gating and phrases about responsibility in the intake of alcoholic beverages was raised again. In these cases, Conar's decisions tend to be more severe due to recurrence.

Still on advertising related to sensitive activities and products, when judging a representation involving electronic cigarettes, Conar made it clear that advertising on the subject must be included in the modality of cause advertising, that is, advertising intended to endorse the regulation of this product in the country.

Product advertising for electronic cigarettes has limitations imposed by the legislation in force, which establishes the prohibition of the commercialization, importation and advertising of any electronic smoking devices, as well as restriction of advertising, in a mass communication vehicle, of tobacco products in general.

Counselor Juliana Vansan stressed the importance of complying with legislation related to sensitive categories, such as tobacco products and beverages. These products have important social and cultural impacts that need to be considered. In addition, its consumption is strongly influenced by marketing and advertising. For this reason, companies must take double care when dealing with their communications.

Veracity of the information

Another widely discussed topic this year was the veracity of supplement advertising content. Several representations were filed due to complaints about advertisements that would guarantee the consumer the miraculous cure of some disease or the guarantee that, from the ingestion of the supplement, the effects would be instantaneous.

In its vast majority, it is advertising that promises results such as "elimination of pain and suffering", "ensures focus and concentration", "mental performance", "eliminate 1kg a day", "cures hangovers", "eliminates joint pain", "eliminate diabetes", "fast and efficient weight loss", "improves anxiety", "controls cholesterol", among others.

Even when the defense presents studies with chemical components of the product that support the statement made by the brand, Conar understands that it is not possible to guarantee that the product will comply exactly with what it is offering.

The recommendation to suspend three representations that contained, according to Conar decisions, misleading promises of a categorical and miraculous cure of type 2 diabetes (a chronic disease) with the simple ingestion of food supplements, made the chamber approve a motion to submit to the board of Conar.

The motion proposes that the agency's Ethics Council send its recommendations to the competent public authorities, especially the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and the Public Prosecutor's Office, so that the possible occurrence of an offer harmful to the consumer's health can be investigated.

Impacts of the digital age

Conar is very attentive to issues involving digital influencers, who currently have great power of persuasion over the masses – which even led to the publication of a manual on the topic in 2021, the Conar's Guide to Influencer Advertising.

In this scenario, when judging a representation that dealt with collaborations between companies and influencers, Conar decided that the use of the "collab" functionality on social networks is not enough to identify the content as advertising, especially when this content appears in profiles that are not those of the advertiser.

This functionality refers to collaborative posts that allow two or more accounts to co-author a piece of content. The original content creator can invite other accounts as collaborators. If these accounts accept the collaboration, their usernames will be added to the post, which will be shared with their followers.

The rapporteur recommended the change in advertising, indicating that ads must make it clear that it is advertising, as established in item 1.1 of Conar's Influencer Advertising Guide.

In general, correctly identifying content as advertising is considered indispensable for Conar. This, in fact, is one of the focuses of the agency when dealing with work involving companies and digital influencers.

Puffing and sustainability

A very sensitive topic in recent times has been the practice of greenwashing. It is a marketing strategy in which companies promote an environmentally responsible image without adopting genuine sustainable practices. To do this, they exaggerate or falsify their ecological initiatives. The goal is to attract consumers concerned about the environment.

In 2024, Conar judged a representation initiated with a complaint from a consumer, who understood that a certain ad presented irregular appeals on sustainability.

In this case, the agency stressed that, despite encouraging companies to reaffirm their role in combating climate change and establish sustainable parameters in their businesses and products, Conar’s code, in accordance with the best international practices on the subject, establishes that advertisers must have robust evidence to support their sustainability claims.

The practice of indiscriminate puffing on this topic would be unreasonable. In puffing, advertisers make exaggerated or subjective statements about a product or service. It is not intended that these statements be assimilated in their literal sense (such as the expression "the best in the market"). This appeal is considered lawful, as it is understood that it is a self-assessment, and is not necessarily based on objective data.

However, when the theme is the environment and the appeal involves sustainability, Conar seems to have a slightly more rigid view. It is essential, therefore, that companies are transparent and responsible in their communications, especially when dealing with sensitive topics such as environmental sustainability.

Priorities for 2025

In September of this year, Conar participated in the meetings of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (Icas), an entity of which the body is a founding member. On the occasion, the self-regulatory organizations (SROs) of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain and Icas signed the Buenos Aires Declaration.

This declaration reaffirms the commitment of the Latin American advertising community to promote robust, effective and independent self-regulatory frameworks. In the document, the main focuses of the advertising community for 2025 were defined:

  • Online advertising and artificial intelligence (AI) – ensuring transparency and ethical standards in AI-based advertising, with a focus on developing and enforcing guidelines for the responsible use of AI.
  • Influencer marketing – addressing the growth of influencer marketing by exploring strategies to maintain transparency, ethical conduct, and compliance with existing regulations.
  • Sustainability – promoting advertising that reflects sustainability principles, encouraging brands to adopt environmentally responsible practices.
  • Responsible food and beverage advertising – strengthen guidelines for advertising directed at children, particularly in the food and beverage sectors, to promote public health.
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) – promoting advertising that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion, while combating harmful stereotypes and promoting more inclusive representation.
  • Gambling advertising – developing responsible messages for gambling advertising – especially given the space that the sport has been conquering – to protect vulnerable audiences.

In the case of Conar, the year 2024 was marked by important decisions related to current and relevant topics. The analysis of the judged representations shows Conar's performance on several fronts, from the advertising of bets and alcoholic beverages to the veracity of information in supplement ads and transparency in collaborations with digital influencers.

For 2025, Conar, together with other SROs in Latin America, has established priority focuses that include, as seen above, transparency and ethical standards in online and artificial intelligence-based advertising, the promotion of environmentally responsible practices, responsible food and beverage advertising, and the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion.