False advertising: signs, examples and responsibility

From the point of view of the Advertising Law (Article 5), unfair advertising:

• compares your product or service with offers from other sellers;

• discredits the honor, dignity and business reputation of competitors;

• advertises something that cannot be advertised, or does it in a manner prohibited by law.

False advertising misleads consumers about a product or service:

• qualities and properties, conditions for their provision;

• the benefits that the consumer can receive from the purchase;

• about approval, demand or regalia.

To simplify greatly, the rule is as follows when advertising: “show both the front and back of the product.”

The product, of course, is not a hut on chicken legs, and the consumer is not Ivanushka. But the consumer should be able to consciously make their choice, and not be fooled by trigger language.

The law also prohibits advertising that is discriminatory, incites violence, offensive or obscene. The latter often causes public interest and resonance.

Let’s look at the types of inappropriate advertising.

When talking about our product, we all want to say that our product is “the best.” But, unfortunately, the law prohibits this.

The Asian clothing brand’s competitors launched ads with the slogan “Like Nikifilini, only cheaper.”

One of the responsibilities of a business is to provide in advertising all the essential information about the service offered. However, all the restrictions and unattractive clarifications cannot be hidden in a footnote written in small font at the end of the advertising offer.

You can be misled not only by incorrect comparisons and small print, but also by foreign words that distort perception. In Yoshkar-Ola, a tobacco store was fined for advertising: “Vape Shop. Disposable devices, liquid, tobacco.”

Knowledge of a foreign language is not mandatory in Russia, and using the phrase “Vape Shop” without translation can mislead the consumer.

Insult is always a purely individual story. The same words can make some people laugh and offend others.

FAS believes that offensive advertising:

• humiliates human dignity;

• downplays the importance of individuals or events.

From recent cases: FAS opened a case against a beauty salon for anti-cellulite advertising. The FAS considered that such advertising could infringe on the dignity of women.

Unlike other types of inappropriate advertising, fines for racism and discrimination are less common in the Russian market. The latest scandals are at least several years old.

A fine is not the only means of combating dishonesty on the part of the state. FAS can also force a company to refute its own advertising. For example, oblige a federal TV channel to show a video in prime time with the text that the advertisement was found unreliable by the court.

The fines are quite large, and the FAS closely monitors compliance with the law, but companies still continue to violate them. In such conditions, the question arises: why does this happen?

There are several reasons. Advertising may become unreliable due to technical errors and human factors: they made a mistake in the number or forgot to indicate limiting conditions.

In some cases, companies do not have a process for approving advertising, and sometimes the amount of a potential fine is significantly lower than the expected profit and the risk is conscious. In the latter case, the issue of providing the consumer with reliable information remains on the conscience of the business.