Danish party’s historic TV ad ‘possibly illegal’
A Danish political party may have broken the law by having a commercial for its election campaign broadcast during a football match, according to an expert.
Party political television commercials are not permitted in Denmark, making an ad for the Liberal Alliance party, which appeared during the UEFA Champions League tie between Manchester City and FC Copenhagen on Wednesday, a remarkable first in Danish politics.
In the ad, the libertarian party depicts a taxpayer calling the Danish tax services and struggling to resolve a problem.
By voting for Liberal Alliance, less bureaucracy would mean such a situation can be avoided, the party argues in the commercial.
I går skrev Liberal Alliance et lille stykke politisk danmarkshistorie, da vi i pausen mellem Manchester City og FCK bragte den første politiske TV-reklame nogensinde.
Den lå dog oveni partilederdebatten, så hvis du ikke fik den set, har du muligheden her: pic.twitter.com/6VwxZLPKAK
— Alex Vanopslagh (@AlexVanopslagh) October 6, 2022
But the ad is likely to be illegal in Denmark according to professor in marketing law at Copenhagen Business School Jan Trzaskowski.
“I find it hard to see how this could be legal. The rules are relatively clear when it comes to radio and TV,” Trzaskowski told news wire Ritzau.
The political commercial was shown on channel TV3+. Political advertisement is not permitted in Denmark on either commercial or non-commercial channels.
Liberal Alliance leader Alex Vanopslagh said on Wednesday that the ad had not broken the law because TV3+ is broadcast from Sweden.
But the loophole, known as the “broadcasting country principle”, does not apply in this case according to Trzaskowski.
“The basis [of the principle] is that if you have a broadcasting business established in a country, you only need to comply with the laws there,” he said.
“But that only applies with regard to what is harmonised with the [legal] directive. And political commercials are not,” he said.
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Party political television commercials are not permitted in Denmark, making an ad for the Liberal Alliance party, which appeared during the UEFA Champions League tie between Manchester City and FC Copenhagen on Wednesday, a remarkable first in Danish politics.
In the ad, the libertarian party depicts a taxpayer calling the Danish tax services and struggling to resolve a problem.
By voting for Liberal Alliance, less bureaucracy would mean such a situation can be avoided, the party argues in the commercial.
I går skrev Liberal Alliance et lille stykke politisk danmarkshistorie, da vi i pausen mellem Manchester City og FCK bragte den første politiske TV-reklame nogensinde.
— Alex Vanopslagh (@AlexVanopslagh) October 6, 2022
Den lå dog oveni partilederdebatten, så hvis du ikke fik den set, har du muligheden her: pic.twitter.com/6VwxZLPKAK
But the ad is likely to be illegal in Denmark according to professor in marketing law at Copenhagen Business School Jan Trzaskowski.
“I find it hard to see how this could be legal. The rules are relatively clear when it comes to radio and TV,” Trzaskowski told news wire Ritzau.
The political commercial was shown on channel TV3+. Political advertisement is not permitted in Denmark on either commercial or non-commercial channels.
Liberal Alliance leader Alex Vanopslagh said on Wednesday that the ad had not broken the law because TV3+ is broadcast from Sweden.
But the loophole, known as the “broadcasting country principle”, does not apply in this case according to Trzaskowski.
“The basis [of the principle] is that if you have a broadcasting business established in a country, you only need to comply with the laws there,” he said.
“But that only applies with regard to what is harmonised with the [legal] directive. And political commercials are not,” he said.
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