Advertiser Liability

The advertiser is the natural or legal person commissioning the promotion of its goods or services. Article 61 of Law No. 6502 imposes the obligation to comply with commercial advertising rules on advertisers together with advertising agencies and media organisations. Of these three actors, the advertiser is at the centre of liability.

The Advertiser’s Obligations

• Burden of proof: The advertiser must prove the claims in its advertising; see Burden of Proof in Advertising.
• Content responsibility: It is responsible for the ad’s compliance with commercial advertising principles, sector rules and consumer law.
• Documents ready: Documents supporting the claims must be ready before the ad runs.

An agency having prepared the ad, or the media having approved it for publication, does not remove the advertiser’s liability.

On Social Media

On social media, the advertiser may also be held liable for posts by content creators it works with. The Advertising Board may sanction both the advertiser and the influencer for posts containing covert advertising. Advertisers are expected to check posts by their content creators and ensure the advertising label is used correctly.

In Contracts

Contracts between the advertiser and agencies, content creators and media should clearly cover:

• The pre-publication approval process and who has final approval,
• Who provides and keeps the documents supporting the claims,
• Who checks the advertising label, legal disclaimers and sector rules,
• Information, defence and recourse provisions in case of Advertising Board sanctions.