Advertising plays a large role in the development of the market for goods and services. It provides healthy competition, which has a beneficial effect on the economic space of the country. Citizens have the right to receive favorable and reliable information. All unfair advertising products are carefully studied, and then eliminated by special state bodies. Our material will detail the types and characteristics of the “wrong” advertising.
Advertising in Russia
Promotional products are informative information that is distributed in special forms using any means available. Such information can be addressed to an indefinite circle of people in order to draw their attention to the necessary object. Advertising forms or develops people's interest in a product or service. This helps to increase supply and demand.
Promotional products are made by three people: advertiser, manufacturer and distributor. Persons whose attention was drawn to the object of advertising are called consumers. The quality of the formation and distribution of advertising is monitored by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).
In Russia, advertising is regulated by the federal law of the same name (FZ-38 of 03/13/2006). It describes the main forms of promotional products. A separate chapter contains rules on the protection of consumers from unfair advertising. This is the name of informative information that does not meet the requirements of Russian law.
The concept of unfair advertising
In a state with a market economy there are always a lot of goods and services. A manufacturer who has entered the market is not so easy to stand out from among numerous competitors. New ways must be devised to show oneself in the proper light. This is often difficult, and sometimes even impossible. Entrepreneurs who do not want to ponder over the quality of their products and their competent positioning decide to neglect the confidence of customers. They bypass and use an elementary way of attracting attention: unfair advertising.
Wanting to succeed without the necessary efforts, manufacturers are deceiving their own customers. They hide the shortcomings of their products or significantly exaggerate the existing advantages. This approach is illegal. This is evidenced by articles on unfair advertising in FZ-38 of 2006.
Competition is a useful and popular phenomenon. It remains so as long as it is controlled by the norms of the law. As soon as the competition goes beyond the legal framework, economic chaos begins. Information promoting a particular product is aimed at developing healthy competition. However, unfair advertising creates an illegal fight. This is indicated by many examples from life, which we will analyze later. First you need to understand the forms of unfair advertising and their features.
Features of illegal advertising
The law on unfair advertising enshrines the rules to distinguish the correct information from illegal. The first sign of false advertising is the presence of false information about the product. For example, a manufactured product can be compared with an already implemented analogue from another company.
The second feature of illegal advertising is to expose a competitor in a bad light. No company should discredit the professional reputation, honor and dignity of its colleagues. It is forbidden to belittle the dignity of competitors. For example, a manufacturer claiming its product as the best among analogues should prove this in detail.
It is forbidden to advertise prohibited goods or those products whose promotion is not allowed in certain places. The indirect advertising of prohibited products also falls under the ban. Such actions will be regarded as illegal PR.
The law sets a taboo on the incorrect comparison of products with competitive counterparts. So, manufacturers often use the technique of comparing the "exceptional" and "best" products with "ordinary" counterparts. Advertisers noticeably belittle other manufacturers, exposing them in a bad light. In fact, they tell customers that “other companies produce low-quality products,” which is most likely not true.
Thus, employees of advertising companies must be very careful in promoting a particular product. They must find a fine line: when the goods are shown in the best light, but no one has broken the law.
Umbrella and defamatory advertising
Umbrella advertising is probably the most sophisticated form of informational promotion. Prohibited goods or services are advertised under the guise of a similar product or similar trademark. Because of this, the buyer does not associate with an official product, but with a known product prohibited for promotion.
Most often, the umbrella advertising method is used by manufacturers of tobacco and alcohol products. As you know, cigarettes and spirits are forbidden to advertise. To remind themselves, manufacturers pay public relations to other companies, but on the condition that their trademark still flickers in front of customers.
The next type of unfair advertising is called defamatory. Everything is simple here: in the developed information material, the authority, honesty or goodwill of individuals is called into question. Moreover, this may not necessarily be competitors. For example, in comedy commercials, an image of a person or group of people can be ridiculed. Moreover, some PR people allow themselves to discredit those who do not use the services of a particular company. Such acts are considered offensive, and therefore are prohibited. In accordance with the provisions of the law, a fine is imposed for any manifestations of unfair and inaccurate advertising.
Invalid comparison
The lion's share of promotional products is comparative. Most of such advertising is prohibited. The fact is that the comparison should be correct, with indications of accurate data. This is not known or unwilling to know by many workers in the field of PR-technologies. They enter into an intense race for leadership and try to win it with all possible forces. However, this is not easy. If the quality of the goods is the same as that of competitive peers, then buyers will have to compete. You can carry out a memorable and creative advertising campaign. But will the end justify the means? Advertisers do not want to take financial risks, and therefore often take the slippery slope of breaking the law.
No one dares to show a competitor in their advertising. This will cause mixed reactions from the audience. This is known to PR employees, and therefore invent indirect options for comparison. They compare the advertised product with “other” or “ordinary” products. Thus, they significantly reduce the credibility of other manufacturers. Any incorrect comparison, including the unconscious, is a taboo. But does this mean that comparative advertising is in principle prohibited?
Some manufacturers still manage to circumvent the requirements of the FAS and the law. The secret is that linguists or people who know Russian better than others take up the production of advertising. So, the difference in the phrases "best of its kind" and "unique in the lineup" is, and significant. When a product is called the best, then this requires proof. The manufacturer must indicate in the characteristics of the goods information indicating the unsurpassed goods. If the object of advertising is called "unique", then problems may not arise. So, a product can be unique in one property, but not the best in general.
Copy
It’s worth explaining right away that copying and plagiarism are not the same categories. Plagiarism is part of copying, which can take many forms. In the advertising environment, lovers of preying on old ways of serving are called "opportunists" or "mimicking creatives." They do not invent anything new, do not try to fantasize and find the best options. For opportunists, a repetition of old, but successful ideas is characteristic.
There are four types of mimicking advertisers. The first is known to everyone - it is a plagiarist. It is characterized by accurate reproduction of existing material - without any new ideas and additions. The second species is called a clone. In this case, the manufacturer copies itself. For example, he once shot a successful commercial. But instead of developing and coming up with something new, the manufacturer decides to “clone” past success.
The last two representatives of the mimicking group are not as lazy as those described earlier. They try to dilute the copied material with new ideas and various additions. So, lovers of "imitate" form their material, but supplement it with old successful details. There are also followers of the “revitalization” - advertisers who borrow a contextual format for their material.
Fans of "imitation" and "revitalization" have the easiest time. At the time of exposure, they can justify themselves by using references, but did not copy anything. However, it should be borne in mind that the court often takes the side of the plaintiffs who filed a complaint for allegedly used plagiarism. Sometimes, due to the judges' subjective thinking, even the correct information can become unfair advertising. The fine, therefore, will still have to be paid.
Invalid Information
Advertising is considered unfair if it provides incorrect, unverified or doubtful information about a particular product. So, the law establishes a ban on incorrect information:
- about the artificial or natural properties of a product, time or technologies for its creation, methods of use or consumption, nuances of operation, etc .;
- on the pricing policy of the manufacturer at the time of the advertising campaign;
- about payment terms;
- on the availability of a product in circulation, its marketability or availability in certain quantities at a specified time and place;
- on the conditions of the warranty periods and time characteristics of the suitability of the goods;
- powers to use state or international symbols;
- statistics presented in such a way as to mislead the audience;
- about the popularity and demand for products;
- about the superiority of the advertised product over other products, etc.
Thus, representatives of PR-companies should try hard to circumvent all prohibitions and create a high-quality information product. Often unfair competition and advertising are formed by themselves, without any efforts on the part of specialists.
Hidden and unethical advertising
Advertising should not be shy. This is an important rule of law. Any attempt to discreetly convey information to listeners or viewers is prohibited. So, before the start of advertising, an insertion about its beginning is desirable. The positioned product must be clearly identified.
Why is hidden advertising prohibited? The law states that any attempt to indirectly convince the buyer of the need for a particular product is negative. This is a prohibited type of advertising. Unscrupulous promoters quietly affect the perception of reality by people. Such actions are considered harmful, as proved by psychologists and scientists.
Unethical advertising is considered the most common occurrence. Workers in the field of PR, wanting to stand out, resort to humiliation, insults and other “evil” types of reporting. The law prohibits advertising information in which racism, Nazism, various forms of intolerance and discrimination, derogatory remarks about people or countries, denigration of official symbols, etc. are present.
Often, advertisers intentionally violate the law, trying to get publicity and the so-called "black PR". Moreover, they often achieve their goals. A disgraced manufacturer is paid attention to, and therefore demand is rising. Of course, not all companies are ready to take such a risk - perhaps the most desperate ones.
Unfair Advertising: Legal Responsibility
Control over the activities of unscrupulous advertisers is the responsibility of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). The authority of this body includes the prevention, detection and termination of individual companies of violations of the law. FAS initiates cases and submits them to the court. Thus, protection from unfair advertising is implemented.
The law fixes different types of punishments for the creation and dissemination of illegal information. All necessary sanctions are enshrined in article 14.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation - from 2 to 2.5 thousand rubles for citizens and up to 20 thousand rubles for officials. Large companies registered as legal entities should be ready to fork out for up to 500 thousand rubles.
The financial damage that advertising information could cause is classified as civil matters. Accordingly, damages are regulated by article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The court itself decides how much the defendant must transfer to the injured person. Lost profits, moral or material damage, etc., are calculated.
Real cases of unfair advertising in Russia
Domestic companies often violate Russian law when promoting their products. Examples of unfair advertising are incredibly many. It’s worth starting with an illustration of a typical mimicry. Few people know that the Retro FM insert is a complete replica of the loss of the Fnac Music Store, a vinyl record company. This is a case of "revitalization", and therefore nothing happened with the famous radio station.
There have been cases of broadcasting unethical advertising in Russia. However, their number is not as great as in the West, where issues of tolerance are particularly acute. Nevertheless, it is still worth talking about one egregious situation in our country. The eccentric entrepreneur German Sterligov often attracted attention with the help of homophobic and derogatory remarks. So, on the window of his store in St. Petersburg for a long time hung a sign with the inscription " ****** [to homosexuals] entry is forbidden." The prosecutor's office ordered to remove the tablet. The situation itself can be called an example of unethical and hidden advertising.
The following situation illustrates the provision of false information. In the fall of 2014, the Megafon company advertised the Megafon Login 3 tablet, allegedly for 1990 rubles. However, in most stores the real cost of the gadget was at least 3,790 rubles. FAS fined the company.
A blatant incident happened with Gazprom. The head of the FAS Igor Artemyev suddenly considered the slogan of the company, which she had used for more than 13 years, illegal. The fact is that Gazprom has positioned itself as a "national treasure." This was not liked by many politicians. A nation’s wealth is its nature, freedom, beauty, traditions, family and much more, but not a gas company. Gazprom agreed with the comments and removed the famous slogan from circulation.