Overview

About Us

The Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) is a 501c3 non-profit built to address the urgent and complex issues of ethical standards and practices across all aspects of advertising communications.


The IAE incorporates the vision of Wally Snyder, a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, Andrew Susman, an entrepreneurial advertising executive, and a group of other early exemplary volunteers. Its Advisory Council is an intentionally diverse and exceptional group of market participants, educators, and government officials.


To actualize its vision, the IAE spearheaded the idea of certification and developed the Certified Ethical Advertising Executive (CEAE) in 2022 with the University of Texas at Austin. The CEAE is intended to empower a generation of ethical advertising executives who can identify and mitigate ethical risks, build trust in the marketplace, and lead with ethics in their careers, companies, and communities.

Our Mission

The IAE's mission is to address the urgent and complex issues of ethical standards and practices across all aspects of advertising communications.

A Long History of Rigorous Development

2010 <

A research-based working group was created at the University of Missouri's Reynolds Journalism Institute with the American Advertising Federation. 

> 2012-2014

Wally Snyder and several academic and industry volunteers led community dialogs on campuses and in corporate board rooms, gaining valuable input from thousands of educators, students, researchers, journalists, and corporate citizens.

2015 <

Wally Snyder and Routledge published "Ethics in Advertising: Make the Case for Doing the Right Thing," a book that provides students and practitioners with a comprehensive overview of the rules and principles associated with ethical advertising practices.

> 2018

The Advertising Contract Exchange was built by Andrew Susman and Ken Zinn (CMO, American Bar Association) to bring transparency to advertising contracts. 

2021 <

Wally Snyder joined forces with Andrew Susman and the Trust & Transparency Forum to create a 501(c)3 non-profit educational institute, with the goal to bridge the "ethics gap" in the advertising and communications industry. 

> 2022

The first and only ethics certification for the advertising and communications industry, the Certified Ethical Advertising Executive (CEAE), conferred in March 2022. 

2024 <

The first and only social science-guided course to improving the integrity of environmental communications, the Green Shield, was launched in February 2024. 

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