RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISING & MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS POLICY

Our Commitment

As a leader in the beauty industry the L’Oréal Groupe strives to be a responsible company, with strong commitments for People and the Planet, including advertising & marketing communications.

In line with L’Oréal Groupe’s  Code of Ethics and Ethical Principles, the L’Oréal for The Future commitments, Human Rights Policy and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) standards, Sense of Purpose, and our key ethical and compliance policies, including the Influencer Value Charter, we act to advertise, promote, and communicate responsibly.

We respect all applicable laws and regulations related to advertising & marketing communications in all markets where we operate. We respect the usage of third-party assets and ensure that all copyrights, author rights, personality rights and usage rights are respected. Our policy is also in line with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) “Advertising and MarketingCommunication” Code.

Conscious about the key role of partnerships in shaping global standards, we actively engage, collaborate and share thought leadership with peers and agencies through global memberships (amongst others, WFA’s Planet Pledge and the Global DE&I Charter for Change, Ad net zero, Unstereotype Alliance, etc.).

Scope of application & Governance

This policy refers to “advertising and marketing communications” (hereafter “advertising”) which applies to all content that L’Oréal Groupe entities produce or use to promote their brand image, products, or services, for all advertising channels, including but not limited to television, digital & social media, gaming, and events.

We expect our partners (agencies, influencers, etc.) to respect the same principles and we work together with them to fulfill these responsibilities.

The Division, Brand, Digital & Marketing management teams are responsible for the proper implementation of these principles, wherever we operate. To that effect, we train our marketing teams in all these principles, including on topics such as diversity, equity and inclusion, and unconscious bias.

In case of Doubt

In case of doubt, don’t hesitate to speak up: as you should not assume your concerns are known at the right level of the organization.  We encourage a culture of openness where employees and our external stakeholders can raise their concerns effectively and without fear of reprisal. You may raise any ethical concern you have through the usual management channels or directly to the Global Ethics, Risk & Compliance department via our secure web site www.lorealspeakup.com.

Our Principles for Action

In terms of actions, L’Oréal Groupe and all its brands commit to:

  1. RESPONSIBLE MEDIA & CONTENT:

    • Ensure all claims and statements are substantiated and based on solid data.

    • Ensure that the advertising in all media is sincere, true, non-misleading and decent. Notably enforce image honesty by ensuring that the illustration of the performance of our products is not misleading. As an example, we only use visual retouching techniques to correct technical issues such as untrue results due to lighting and never to enhance perceived product performance.

    • Apply media buying policies and conduct careful auditing of publishers and platforms prior to placing advertising, to ensure our advertising items are not placed or run in broadcast, print or in digital environments where hateful, denigrating, discriminatory, sexual or other types of harmful content appear (brand suitability).

    • Ensure that our advertising does not denigrate a competitor or a category of products or a family of ingredients.

    • Ensure that influencers and creators who recommend our products or services fully disclose their commercial links with L’Oréal to their audience.

    • Refrain from using content that closely resembles, or mimics protected works, trademarks, people, or recognizable elements.

  2. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION:

    • Embed diversity and inclusion in our advertising related to gender, age, socio-economic backgrounds, skin color, body shape, disabilities, sexual orientation, religion, etc., and assess improvement.

    • Respect human dignity and avoid presenting degrading stereotypes or disrespecting historically excluded or marginalized minority communities in our advertising.

    • Continue to play a strong role in raising awareness of the full diversity of beauty.

    • Ensure our advertising and marketing communications do not depict individuals, and especially women as objects and do not perpetuate gender and racial biases and stereotypes.

    • Minimize the use of visual retouching techniques and filters to alter permanent features, skin color, skin texture, imperfections or body shape or size of models.

    • Aim to deploy advertising accessible to all (i.e. including subtitles, closed captions, or transcription).

    • Strengthen a respectful and inclusive work environment empowering everyone to thrive and build strong relationships with all our partners.

  3. MARKETING AND CHILDREN:

    • Do not intentionally target children under the age of 16 (or higher if required by local legislation) except for basic hygiene, personal care and sun protection products, on all advertising channels, including but not limited to television, digital and social media, gaming, and events.

    • Be extremely cautious when promoting basic hygiene, personal care and sun protection products to children and young people. Advertising does not suggest that possession or use of the promoted product would give a child physical, psychological, or social advantage over other children, or that not possessing the product would have the opposite effect.

    • Refrain from partnering with influencers below the legal age to sign a contract (or 16 years old if that legal age is younger).

  4. DATA PRIVACY & ETHICS:

    • Ensure full transparency when collecting personal data on how the data will be used, using clear and plain language.

    • Refrain from using deceptive methods to trick consumers into providing consent (e.g. pre-checked boxes or confusing language).

    • Retain personal data only for the appropriate period. The individuals shall always remain in control over their personal data; including the possibility to access and amend or delete their personal data.

  5. USE OF GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI):

    • Do not use life-like face, body, hair, and skin, created using Generative AI, to support/enhance product benefits.

    • Refrain from using Outputs or Generative AI-Assisted Content that closely resembles, or mimics protected works, trademarks, people, or recognizable elements.

    • Ensure correct application of existing regulations on AI to Intellectual property, Data Privacy, and advertising law, applicable to the governing legislation of each country.

  6. SUSTAINABILITY:

    • Promote sustainable consumption in our advertising, whether through refillable product lines, products with reduced environmental impact and/or sustainable lifestyle messaging to drive consumer behavior shifts.

    • Refrain from abusing consumers’ concern for the environment or exploit their possible lack of environmental knowledge.

    • Measure and reduce the carbon footprint of our advertising, in line with our Science Based Target Initiative (SBTI) commitments.

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