Advertising Board

The Advertising Board is the board established within the Ministry of Trade under Article 63 of Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 to supervise commercial advertising and unfair commercial practices. It is made up of representatives of various public bodies, professional organisations and consumer organisations.

Duties

• Setting principles to be followed in commercial advertising,
• Supervising advertising and unfair commercial practices,
• Imposing sanctions in case of breach,
• Publishing guidelines and principle decisions.

The Board’s guidelines cover topics such as environmental claims, consumer reviews and social media influencers. They make the Board’s practice predictable.

The Investigation Process

1. Opening: The Board starts an investigation upon a complaint or on its own initiative.
2. Request for defence: The advertiser is asked for explanations and a defence.
3. Assessment: What is decisive in the defence is substantiation of the ad’s claims; defences relying only on general explanations usually result in fines.
4. Decision: The Board decides on the file and the decision is served on the advertiser.

Board decisions are published in monthly decision bulletins. As they show which statements were found non-compliant, the bulletins are an important resource for advertising planning.

Complaints

A complaint may be filed with the Advertising Board against a competitor’s non-compliant advertising, stating the medium and date and the reason for non-compliance. Where a faster result is the goal, the industry’s Advertising Self-Regulatory Board is also an option.