A meeting of 11 advertising managers in the boardroom of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company on August 19, 1914, was the beginning of the Association of Canadian Advertisers. Their companies, the founding members of ACA, were: Best Foods; Cadbury Beverages; Esso Petroleum; Ford; General Motors; Gillette; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company; Kodak; Lever Brothers; Nabisco Brands; and the Royal Bank.

Uncomfortable with the condition of the advertising industry in Canada at that time, these advertising managers met that August day in Toronto to discuss how to affect some needed changes such as reining in wildly untruthful advertising claims made by some companies. Copy for one ad, for example, proclaimed the product could cure measles in one week, scarlet fever in two, and cancer in three.

Since that time, advertisements have changed dramatically. So too have the nature of media and the social and political context in which advertisements are placed. What's remained constant, however, is ACA's focus on what matters most to Canadian advertisers: ensuring that their right to commercial free speech is protected and that they have every opportunity to advertise responsibly and cost-effectively.

1914 to 1999:

Brief timeline of the ACA >>
History of ACA's major achievements >>

2000 to 2004:

Advocacy (Past Activities) >>

2005 to 2006:

Advocacy (Recent Activities) >>