Sector-specific Advertising

Last modified on November 1, 2011 | print

Table of Contents

i. Adult advertising

Yahoo! UKIE does not permit graphical advertising of any commercial adult entertainment services or pornography.  The only exception to this policy is search marketing, subject to Yahoo! Search Marketing editorial guidelines.  See http://help.yahoo.com/l/uk/yahoo/ysm/sps/start/editorial/index.html for further details.

Adverts depicting adult themes (including partial nudity or images suggestive of sexual acts) must not be gratuitous but may be acceptable in an artistic context.  Creative should be tasteful and adverts appropriately targeted at users aged 18 and over.

ii. Advertising of films or computer games

Advertisers wishing to run campaigns featuring any film trailers or computer games should be aware that Yahoo!:

  1. requires advertisers to provide the BBFC and/or PEGI rating (a) for the film/game itself, and (b) for the actual trailer.  The rating for the film/game should be CLEARLY displayed on the face of the advert and the trailer (both ratings should be displayed if the trailer is a different certificate to the film itself) – this allows users to know what type of content they’re likely to see if they choose to watch the advert/trailer;
  2. may require a disclaimer about the content to be displayed on the face of the advert if the film/game is yet to be certified and the content is strong (i.e. contains violence, horror, sexual content or swearing);
  3. requires relevant age targeting to be applied if the film’s/game’s certificate is 18.

There is specific ASA information on these types of campaigns based on previous adjudications but in general, advertisers should take particular care when running adverts for films or computer games and be aware that all adverts should avoid causing harm, fear, distress and widespread offence.

iii. Advertising of alcoholic beverages

The advertising of alcoholic beverages is permitted under UK law and subject to specific rules in the CAP Code.  These rules are based on a number of core principles.  Advertising should not:

  • Appeal particularly to under 18s;
  • Imply that alcohol can make you more popular, successful, attractive; ;
  • Encourage irresponsible drinking habits;
  • Suggest any association with, acceptance of or allusion to illicit drugs;
  • Promote the product’s alcoholic strength or intoxicating nature(although the alcoholic nature of the drink must be communicated in its packaging); or
  • Be unclear as to the product’s alcoholic nature.

In addition, the Portman Group code (http://www.portman-group.org.uk/?pid=18&level=2) covers regulation on the naming, packaging and promotion of alcoholic drinks.

iv. Gambling

Gambling comprises of:

a) Gaming (includes Bingo, Casino, Poker):

i.e. games with a chance of winning a prize of monetary value even if it is free to enter.

Note that pure skill gaming is not classified as gambling under UK laws and is not subject to this gambling guideline. If there are mixed elements of skill and chance, then it is not pure skill (and gambling rules will apply).

b) Betting:

i.e. accepting a bet on the outcome of an unascertained event (even if the event has already occurred) e.g. horse races, sports betting etc. Participants will pay to enter.

c) Lotteries:

i.e. a random prize draw with an entry fee.

Yahoo! accepts adverts for the National Lottery and EuroMillions.

Yahoo! cannot accept adverts for organisations which run their own pool but award prizes based on the National Lottery results.

Unacceptable Gambling Adverts:

Yahoo! cannot accept any gambling adverts that:

  • Are likely to lead people to adopt styles of gambling that are unwise;
  • Are socially irresponsible and/or or encourage excessive gambling; or
  • Exploit the young, the immature or those who are mentally or socially vulnerable.

Location and License Requirements

In order to display advertising for gambling in the UK, advertisers must follow the location and license requirements.

In accordance with the UK Gambling Act 2005, Yahoo! can only accept gambling adverts from operators located and licensed in Great Britain, the European Economic Area, or the ‘white list’ jurisdictions (those which UK Parliament has agreed under the Gambling Act to treat as if they were in the European Economic Area).

If you are not operating out of and licensed in an Authorised State, you cannot legally advertise gambling within the UK.

Note the IP targeting general guideline above for guidance regarding those advertisers wishing to advertise gambling in the UK but seeking to target users in other regions.

‘Free to Play’ education sites

These are adverts for ‘play for fun’ or ‘play for free’ sites where participants are encouraged to play and learn traditional gambling type games (e.g. poker) for free.  Not all of these adverts will fall under the gambling regulations – this will depend on the content of the site being advertised and whether these sites offer prizes or have explicit or implicit links to play for money sites.

If you are in any doubt as to whether your advert falls under the gambling advertising regulations or not you should take independent legal advice.

Fixed Odds Betting on Lotteries

Fixed odds betting sites where winning is based on the result of lottery draws are not classed as being lottery sites and may be advertised provided the adverts comply with the basic gambling advertising guidelines and Yahoo! Policy requirements.

Reverse Auctions

Reverse auctions are schemes where entrants must make the lowest unique bid in the auction to win a prize.  Operators charge entrants for each bid they make and the prize is won by the entrant with the lowest unique bid.

Depending on how reverse auctions are operated and the level of skill, judgement and knowledge required by entrants, they can be considered to be prize competitions or unlicensed and therefore illegal lotteries.

If you are in any doubt as to whether your advert for such reverse auction sites would be in breach of the gambling advertising regulations or not you should take independent legal advice.

v. Financial services

The advertising of financial services is highly regulated in the UK.  General law, CAP Code rules, Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations and regulations laid down by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) apply.

You are reminded that all adverts must comply with applicable laws. In particular, adverts relating to consumer credit, financial services or financial products must comply with the requirements of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”) and/or the Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations 2004 (the “CCARs”) (as applicable).

Although we cannot advise on the laws that apply in each case, some commonly occurring reject reasons for consumer credit adverts are:

  • the advertisement does not clearly state the name of the advertiser;
  • the advertisement does not cite typical %APR (where the CCARs require it to be stated);
  • the advertisement does not display the typical %APR in the designated manner; or
  • where the advert (if a consumer credit advert) mentions the amount of any repayment, the amount of any other payment or charge, or the total amount payable, it does not include the further information required as a minimum by the CCARs.

If you are in any doubt as to how the FSMA or CCARs apply to your advertisements you should take independent legal advice. OFT guidance is also available on the OFT’s website (http://www.oft.gov.uk), at http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/guidance.

Individual Voluntary Agreements

Adverts for Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs) must not:

  • claim to allow consumers to write off more than 60% of their debt or to cut their debt by more than 60%; or
  • state that consumers will incur no costs from entering into an IVA.

vi. Political advertising

Yahoo! UKIE can accept advertising from political parties or another entity seeking to use advertising to campaign on a political issue (e.g. charity, think tank or pressure group) but the creative must not be socially or politically insensitive or defamatory.

vii. Healthcare and cosmetic products

Advertising in this area is subject to specific laws and CAP Code rules.  These include:

  • Medical and scientific claims made about beauty and health-related products should be backed by (scientific) evidence
  • Only accurate and responsible general information about such conditions may be offered
  • Adverts must not:
    - invite consumers to diagnose their own (minor) ailments or adverts making claims that might lead to a mistaken diagnosis;
    - use fear or anxiety to promote a product or therapy;
    - encourage to use medicines or therapies to excess;
    - contain unqualified claims such as ‘cure’ and ‘rejuvenation’;
    - suggest the products are ‘guaranteed to work’, ‘absolutely safe’, ‘without side-effects’ etc. without strong scientific proof;
    - not discourage essential treatment;
    - not offer specific advice on, diagnosis of or treatment for serious or prolonged conditions unless it is conducted under the supervision of a doctor or other suitably qualified health professional,
  • Where relevant, the rules also apply to claims made about products for animals.

Surrogacy

It is illegal to advertise surrogacy services in the UK (Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985).

Medicinal Products

The Medicines Act 1968 and its regulations, as well as regulations implementing European Community Directive 92/28/EEC, govern the advertising and promotion of medicines and the conditions of ill health that they can be offered to treat.

The advertising of medicines in the UK is subject to additional rules set out by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA):

  • It is illegal to advertise prescription-only medicines in the UK and Yahoo! may occasionally ask advertisers to confirm the product’s status;
  • It is illegal to advertise any medicinal product (a product is considered medicinal if it is claimed to treat or prevent disease, or to interfere with the normal operation of a physiological function of the human body) in the UK which does not hold an MHRA marketing authorisation and advertisers must confirm the product marketing authorisation number (if not noted in the advert);
  • It is illegal to advertise any homeopathic product in the UK which is not registered with MHRA and advertisers must confirm the product marketing authorisation number (if not noted in the advert);
  • All adverts for medicinal products should include the name of the product, an indication of what it is for, express and legible invitation to read the instructions carefully and the common name of the active ingredient if there is only one;
  • Any claims made for medicinal products must conform with its marketing authorisation;
  • Medicine adverts cannot:
    - be directed at children;
    - make use of health professionals or celebrities to endorse the effect of the product; or
    - contain inaccurate statements,
  • Mail order prescription glasses and contact lenses can only advertised and sold in the UK by UK based providers that are registered members of the General Optical Council (“GOC”).  Overseas based providers that wish to sell such products do not have to be members of the GOC (as this is a UK based regulatory body).

In addition to these restrictions, Yahoo! UKIE does not take advertising for products containing ephedrine or its derivatives.

Cosmetics and Vitamins, Minerals & Food Supplements are subject to additional rules in the CAP Code.

Note on adverts for cosmetic surgery:  Campaigns which combine display advertising and competitions to win cosmetic treatments, surgery or therapies are particularly sensitive.  If you are in any doubt as to the legality of such an advert featuring such content, you should take independent legal advice.

Slimming Products

The CAP Code has specific rules for advertisements for weight control, in conjunction with the Food Standards Agency’s Guidance to Compliance with EC Regulation Number (EC) 1924/2006 (available at http://www.food.gov.uk) on Nutrition and Health Claims on Foods.

Adverts for slimming products should only be targeted at adults and should not encourage users to adopt unhealthy or potentially unsafe dietary practices.

If you are in any doubt as to the whether your adverts for slimming products comply with the CAP Code and the FSA regulations then you should take independent legal advice.

viii. Food advertising

The advertising of food is controlled principally by the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, the Food Act 1984 the Food Labelling Regulations of 1996 and the Food Safety Act 1990.  Additionally, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) endorses guidance on the use of certain claims and terms, such as “fresh”, “pure” and “natural”. These have been developed by the Joint Health Claims Initiative (http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2006/jul/jhcireview).

Specific CAP Code rules on ‘Food or soft drink advertisements to children’ came into force on 1 July 2007.   The rules provide that fresh fruit or fresh vegetables may be advertised using techniques that are restricted for other food or drink products.

Particularly sensitive areas are:

  • Slimming/diet products; and
  • So-called ‘junk’ food.

Advertisements for food or soft drink products should not:

  • Directly ask children to buy the product or suggest they ask their parents or other adults to buy it for them;
  • Condone or encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children;
  • Encourage excessive consumption of food or drink products;
  • Use promotional offers in an irresponsible way (i.e. should not seem to encourage children to eat or drink a product only to take advantage of a promotional offer; the offer should be an added incentive and there should be a significant presence of the product);
  • Use “high pressure” or “hard sell” techniques (i.e. they should not directly urge children to buy them; should not suggest children could be bullied, cajoled or otherwise put under pressure to buy the advertised item);
  • Use licensed characters or celebrities popular with children if targeted directly at pre-school or primary school children;
  • Give a misleading impression of the nutritional health benefits of the product;
  • Present products as easily affordable; or
  • Suggest having the advertised product somehow confers superiority, for example making a child more confident, popular or successful.

This is not an exhaustive list of provisions relating to food advertising advertisers should refer to the CAP Code and relevant legislation for further details and guidance.

ix. Ticket Re-Sale

Yahoo! UKIE does not accept adverts for the unofficial resale of certain types of ticket, including tickets for certain football matches (UEFA and FIFA tickets) and tournaments and tickets for the 2012 London Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games.

x. US Green Card Lottery

Yahoo! permits US Green Card lottery advertising subject to the advert making it clear that the programme is not generally open to people born in the UK (other than Northern Ireland) (e.g. adverts featuring an eligibility test would be allowed but all adverts should have some statement as to UK eligibility on their creatives so as not to be seen as misleading).

xi. Downloads

Yahoo! permits adverts which feature a ‘download’ tab or button as long as this button does not directly start the download itself.  These tabs must only link to the advertiser’s site or a specific page where the user can then download the application and where the full terms and conditions in relation to the download are available.

xii. Flashing Images

Adverts should not contain any visual effects or techniques that are likely to adversely affect users with photosensitive epilepsy.

xiii. Environment

Adverts should not mislead users about the environmental benefit that a product offers.

Any environmental claims being made in adverts should:

  • be explained clearly and be qualified where necessary (as unqualified claims can mislead if they leave out significant information);
  • not use extravagant language or any confusing scientific terms (if it is necessary to use a scientific expression, its meaning should be clear); and
  • not use claims such as ‘environmentally friendly’ or ‘wholly biodegradable’ without qualification.

This is not an exhaustive list of provisions relating to environmental claims and advertisers should refer to the CAP Code for further details and guidance.