Advertising Board’s Priority Practices in 2024

In 2024, the Advertising Board intensified its inspections with the aim of protecting consumer rights and made significant decisions, particularly concerning misleading advertisement, and surreptitious advertising, and unfair commercial practices. These decisions emphasize the necessity for commercial advertisements to comply with the principle of transparency, reaffirming the Advertising Board’s commitment to safeguarding consumer interests.

As in 2023, one of the prominent focus areas of the Advertising Board in 2024 was “health claims.” The Board highlighted that societal concerns arising from the pandemic and the acceleration of digitalization have created an information asymmetry to the detriment of consumers, particularly regarding dietary supplements and products marketed with health claims. It also acknowledged the potential influence of social media influencers in promoting such products, given the widespread use of social media platforms.

In this context, the Board intensified its reviews to raise consumer awareness regarding dietary supplement advertisements and to provide guidance to industry representatives. Sanctions were imposed against non-compliant advertisements, with a particular focus on administrative fines. For instance, during its February meeting alone, the Board reviewed 47 separate cases on this matter, resulting in approximately 10 million TRY in administrative fines.

Notably, the advertisement for a multivitamin tablet featuring a famous athlete was found to create the perception that the product enhances physical performance and concentration. The ad was deemed to promote or encourage excessive consumption of the product and was, therefore, classified as containing a health claim in violation of health claim regulations. Consequently, the Board imposed an administrative fine of 1,388,526 TRY and ordered the cessation of the advertisements.

The Advertising Board has also emphasized that discount rates on products or services must not mislead consumers. Price manipulations, such as artificially inflating prices only to subsequently lower them to create the appearance of a discount, are deemed deceptive practices and result in administrative fines as well as the suspension of the advertisements.

For instance, it was determined that advertisements claimed a television was being sold for a 90% discount for 2,999 TRY from an original price of 28,990 TRY, despite the product never having been sold at 28,990 TRY. This misrepresentation was found to be misleading and deceptive to consumers, violating the principles of fair competition. Consequently, the Board ruled for the suspension of the advertisements.

Another topic frequently reviewed by the Advertising Board in 2024, and likely to remain on the agenda for the foreseeable future, is surreptitious advertising. In particular, hidden advertisements conducted via social media platforms through influencers have drawn attention. Such advertisements, presented without disclosures such as “collaboration” or “advertisement,” are deemed misleading and subject to sanctions.

In a notable decision, an influencer was found to have made promotional posts about their own brand, using highly laudatory language. Despite the brand being the influencer’s, the absence of disclosures such as “advertisement” or “collaboration” led to the classification of the advertisement as surreptitious, and the advertisements were suspended as a result.

Another significant decision concerning surreptitious and hidden advertising pertains to alcoholic beverages. It was determined that in the advertisement, an alcoholic beverage, including the brand logo, was displayed without the beverage being consumed, and clothing matching the colors of the brand’s logo had been worn in the shared content. This was deemed an indirect and surreptitious advertisement for an alcoholic product, violating the relevant regulations. As a result, the Board imposed an administrative fine of 347,128 TRY and ordered the suspension of the advertisements in question.

Another decision category addresses the misleading perception of discounts created through loyalty programs and long-term discount schemes, which have been deemed unfair commercial practices for misleading consumers. Such programs are prohibited from creating a discount perception when no actual discount is offered.

In this context, the Advertising Board has granted a landmark decision aimed at preventing practices that may mislead consumers. The decision stipulates that advertisements for goods or services offered through loyalty programs must not use terms such as “discount,” “savings,” “special discounts/offers for XY card/members,” “pre-discount price,” or visuals like strikethrough prices or downward trend graphs to create a direct or indirect perception of discounts.

A notable case under this category involved an advertisement which included the statement: “...On bread products, the second of the same item is 50% off. The campaign is valid between ... dates for purchases made with x Card.” It was determined that the advertisement gave the impression of a discount using the term “discount” for goods or services offered via a loyalty program. Consequently, the Board ruled that the advertisement must be halted.

A significant portion of the Advertising Board’s decisions in 2024 falls under the category of “digital interface manipulations.” Manipulative practices on e-commerce websites and mobile applications, such as pre-selected checkboxes or hidden fees, have been closely monitored. User interfaces that mislead consumers, provide insufficient information, or use deceptive designs have been classified as unfair commercial practices.

In one case reviewed on this matter, it was determined that a checkbox labeled “I Want to Become a Member” had been pre-selected without the consumer’s explicit consent. Additionally, during the ticket purchasing process, the checkbox for “I have read and agree to the Terms of Use” did not actually provide access to the terms of use document. It was also found that consumers who became members faced unnecessary difficulties when trying to cancel their memberships, a process found to be far more cumbersome than signing up. Furthermore, the application failed to provide consumers with an option to accept or reject targeted advertising based on their interactions with the company’s website, content, or services. It was concluded that the design and practices of the site negatively affected consumers’ ability to make informed decisions. As a result, an administrative fine of 347,128 TRY was imposed, along with a penalty to suspend the commercial practices in question.

Another important area of decisions involves the presentation of misleading information regarding packaging size and product amount. Failing to clearly indicate changes in a product’s content or weight on the packaging has been deemed deceptive advertising, resulting in penalties. For instance, in one case concerning this issue, a set of four soaps was found to be marketed in packaging labeled as 360 grams, while the actual weight was only 320 grams. This effectively increased the unit price of the products indirectly. Moreover, it was determined that the packaging did not include any visible indication or notification of the weight change, in violation of the relevant regulations. As a result, the Board imposed an administrative fine of 347,128 TRY and ordered the suspension of the misleading commercial practices.

The decisions made by the Advertising Board throughout 2024 aim to protect the consumers’ right to access accurate information. Transparent and fair commercial practices have been subjected to rigorous oversight to prevent adverse impacts on consumers’ economic behavior and ensure compliance with applicable regulations.