Tobias Eltell is a lawyer and has spent the majority of his career working with marketing law, copyright, and freedom of the press. He comes most recently from Sveriges Tidskrifter and has previously held roles at Sveriges Annonsörer, Bonnier News and SAMI. He also has experience as a board member of both the Advertising Ombudsman's board and the opinion council.
As Advertising Ombudsman, I want to continue driving the development of the importance of self-regulation in the business community. The Advertising Ombudsman and the ICC Code should be a natural and obvious reference for consumers, companies and decision-makers. Trust in market communication is central – and in today's media landscape more important than ever, says Tobias Eltell in a comment.
Challenges with New Technology in E-commerce
The appointment comes at a time when the Advertising Ombudsman (RO) is handling increasingly complex cases related to the technological development of e-commerce. Recently, the foundation's decision to reject the beauty company Bangerhead for misleading advertising in connection with the use of Google Automated Discounts (GAD) was highlighted.
In that case, RO's opinion council concluded that automated countdown timers, which restart even though the price remains, violate the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce. The case has sparked debate about the division of responsibility between global platforms and individual e-retailers, with Bangerhead's CEO Johan Widström calling for a clearer industry standard for dynamic pricing.
According to Helena Westin, chairman of the board of the Advertising Ombudsman Foundation, Eltell has been recruited to navigate precisely this changing landscape.
We look forward to intensifying the development work that Peter Knutsson has initiated and which is needed for Sweden to continue to have a market characterized by high ethics and good business practices, as the channels and formats change, says Helena Westin.
Focus on Self-Regulation
Tobias Eltell emphasizes that he looks forward to continuing the work with self-regulation, a model based on the business community itself setting and following ethical rules.
I look forward to my new role and to driving this important work together with the knowledgeable staff of the Advertising Ombudsman, concludes Eltell.