The Association of Canadian Advertisers Incorporated (ACA) is a national, not-for-profit association exclusively dedicated to serving the interests of companies that market and advertise their products and services in Canada. Membership in the ACA is restricted to client marketers only, making it the premier Canadian marketing association. It cuts across all products and service sectors, and speaks on behalf of over 200 companies and divisions who collectively account for estimated annual sales of $350 billion.

The ACA traces its beginnings to August 19, 1914, when 11 of Canada’s largest marketing organizations gathered in the Toronto boardroom of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The companies, who would become the founding members of the ACA, were Best Foods, Cadbury Beverages, Esso Petroleum, Ford, General Motors, Gillette, Goodyear, Kodak, Lever Brothers, Nabisco Brands and the Royal Bank.

Uncomfortable with the condition of the advertising industry in Canada at that time, the executives discussed how to affect some needed changes, such as reining in wildly untruthful claims made by some companies. It was agreed a new association dedicated to marketers should be formed to lead the industry in raising advertising standards and practices, and the ACA was born.

Over the years, advertising has changed dramatically, as have the nature of the media and the social and political context in which ads are placed. What’s remained constant is the ACA’s focus on what matters most to the Canadian marketer. Today that means helping our members maximize the return on investment of their marketing communications in an ever-expanding universe of media, formats and marketing disciplines.

Association of Canadian Advertisers
95 St. Clair Avenue West
Suite 1103
Toronto, Ontario
M4V 1N6
Tel: 416-964-3805
Fax: 416-964-0771
Toll Free: 1-800-565-0109
Web: ACA