For the first time in almost two decades, Slovenia has opened a serious revision of its advertising code, attempting to respond to a market that functions completely differently today than it did in 2008, when the Slovenian Advertising Code (SOK) was last updated.
The new code does not attempt to redefine the basic principles of advertising, but rather adapt them to the era of generative AI, the influencer economy, social media and digital communication formats in which the line between content, entertainment and advertising is becoming increasingly blurred.
This balance between continuity and adaptation was one of the central themes of the presentation of the new code. Head of the working group Jaka Repanšek described the process of amendments by saying that the code must be changed “with a trembling hand” – as little and as carefully as possible, in order to preserve the stability of the self-regulatory system. But the development of the market, communication channels and technology, according to him, no longer left room for the document to remain unchanged.
Since the last version of the code, TikTok, the creator economy, retail media models, AI content generation tools and entirely new forms of covert advertising have emerged. Communication has shifted from traditional media into algorithmic feeds, mobile applications, influencers and hybrids between entertainment content and marketing.
Because of this, the new SOK explicitly introduces rules for content created with the help of artificial intelligence for the first time. Such content must be clearly labeled and aligned with the principles of responsibility and fairness. Prof. Dr. Marko Milosavljević emphasized that AI cannot become a space for avoiding responsibility for manipulative or non-transparent content.
One of the more significant new additions also relates to the prohibition of ambush marketing, bringing Slovenia’s regulatory framework closer to global practices at major sports and media events, where brands are increasingly aggressively trying to gain visibility without official sponsorship rights.
At the same time, the code significantly expands its focus on sensitive communication categories – from advertising aimed at children and young people to medicines, medical devices, dietary supplements and gambling. Special emphasis was also placed on environmental claims and greenwashing, as highlighted during the presentation by Prof. Dr. Vesna Žabkar. At a time when sustainability is becoming a central part of brand communication, regulatory pressure around the substantiation of environmental claims is also increasing at the European level.
Political advertising, meanwhile, is not regulated in greater detail by the code itself, but is instead left to existing legislation and European regulation, demonstrating how legally and socially sensitive this area has become in the era of algorithmic content distribution and digital platforms.
Although the new code introduces a range of contemporary categories and definitions, its core logic remains the same: advertising must be lawful, truthful, recognizable and responsible toward society. This is precisely why the working group insisted on the principle of de minimis during the revision process – changing only what is truly necessary. As the authors of the code state, the “rules carved in stone” from the previous edition remain the foundation of the self-regulatory system.
The new SOK is therefore not just a technical update of a document, but an attempt by the Slovenian advertising industry to redefine where creative freedom ends and responsibility in digital communication begins.
