Download Advertising in China: A Multimedia Primer

Advertising in China:
A Multimedia Primer
Eion Murdock
LEHMAN, LEE & XU
Beijing
[email protected]
www.lehmanlaw.com
Background
• China is currently Asia’s largest advertising
market
• Advertising sales revenue hit USD21.85 billion
in 2006
• There are 1,040,099 people in over 143,129
advertising agencies
• China’s growth in advertising is stimulated by:
– rapid economic development
– deregulation of its markets
– 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Background – Foreign Invested
Enterprises (“FIE”)
• Advertising sales revenue by FIEs hit
USD1.85 billion in 2006, with an increase of
7.8% than 2005
• There are about 8000 people in 2006, an
increase of about 54% in 2005, working for
497 advertising agencies
• China’s nearly-total opening market to
foreign invested enterprises by the end of
2005 has further contributed to growth.
China’s Advertising Law
• Regulations on Control of
Advertisements (1987) (RCA)
• Advertising Law of the People’s Republic
of China (1995) (AL)
• Detailed Implementing Rules for the
Regulation on Advertising (2005)
(DIRRA)
• Regulations on particular products
Advertisement Approval Procedures
• For most advertisements in China, no
government pre-approval is required. It
is the advertisement media operator
who is to decide whether an
advertisement is acceptable or not for
the its media. However, for outdoor
advertisements and advertisements in
some special industries, pre-approval is
required.
Pre-approvals for advertisements
• Outdoor advertisements: local
Administration of Industry and Commerce
• Ads for tobacco: local Administration of
Industry and Commerce
• Ads for medical equipment, medicines and
health food: State Food and Drug
Administration
• Ads for veterinary medicines and pesticide:
Ministry of Agriculture
Prohibited Content
While China’s advertisement law
allows most kinds of
advertisements, some types of
advertisements are highly
restricted or prohibited, such as
the following:
False and Deceptive Advertisement
• Advertisement Law of the People’s
Republic of China:
– Article 4: An advertisement may not
contain any false and deceiving information,
and may not cheat or misguide consumers.
• Law Against Unfair Competition of the
People’s Republic of China:
– Article 9: An operator shall not use
advertisement or other means to give false,
misleading information on the quality, origin,
performance …
Exaggerated & Misleading
Advertisement
Advertisements Related to
Stability and Personal Safety
• Advertisement Law of People’s Republic
of China:
– Article 7: Advertisements may not contain
any of the following circumstances:
• (4) Hindering social stability or endangering
the safety of life or property, or harming the
social public interests.
Advertisement Violating Good Social
Customs
• Advertisement Law of People’s Republic
of China:
– Article 7: Advertisements may not contain
any of the following circumstances:
• (5) Hindering the social public order or
violating the good social customs.
Advertisement against Socialist
Cultural Progress
• Advertisement Law of People’s Republic of
China:
– Article 3: An advertisement shall be true
to facts, lawful and in compliance with the
requirements of raising socialist cultural and
ideological progress.
Advertisements that Belittle Other
Products
• Advertisement Law of People’s Republic
of China:
– Article 12: An advertisement may not
belittle the commodities or services of
other producers and manufacturers or
operators.
– Article 25: Advertisers or advertising
operators shall obtain the prior written
consent of others before utilizing the
names and images of others in advertising.
Ads Using Words that Mean “The
Best”
• Advertisement Law of People’s Republic of
China:
– Article 7: Advertisements may not contain any of
the following circumstances:
• (3) Using such words as the state-level, the highestlevel or the best;
– Notice on Immediate Cease of Publishing
Advertisements Containing Such Contents as
“Number One Brand" by the State Administration
of Industry and Commerce (1997)
• Such words as “Number One Brand” are absolute words
with the same meaning as the best.”
Advertisements for Foods and
Cosmetics Using Medical Jargon
• Advertisement Law of People’s Republic of
China:
– Article 19: The contents of advertisements for
cosmetics must comply with matters and items of
hygiene license, and may not use medical jargons or
words which are easily to be mixed up with
pharmaceuticals.
• Pharmaceutical Administration Law of People’s
Republic of China:
– Article 61: The advertisements of nonpharmaceuticals shall not be involved in the publicizing
of pharmaceuticals.
Advertisements for Foods and
Cosmetics Using Medical Jargon
• Notice on Prohibition of Publicity of AntiBacterial and Bacteriostatic Performance
of Cosmetics in Advertising:
– (3) It is forbidden to have express or implied
meaning as “anti-bacterial, bacteriostatic,
bacteria relief” or other medical effects on the
container, label, instructions and other relevant
informational materials in respect of the
cosmetics.
Cosmetic or Food Ads that Include
Names of Consumers
• Measures on Control over Cosmetics
Advertisement:
– Article 8: The cosmetic ad may not contain any of
the following:
• (2) Guaranteeing the efficiency through using names of
other people or make people misunderstand the
efficiency in an implied way.
• Interim Regulations over Publicity of Food
Advertising:
– Article 9: It is forbidden to use the names or
images of relevant experts and consumers as
evidence in food advertising.
Ads Not Displaying Certification for
Products Being Advertised
• Advertisement Law of the People’s
Republic of China:
– Article 24: The…design, production and
publicity of advertisements shall be with or
provide such relevant true, legal and valid
certifying documents as stated below: …
• (2) certificates issued by relevant quality
inspection agencies in respect of contents
related to the quality of the commodities in
the advertising
Conclusion
• Advertising is one of China’s most exciting and
creative industries. Despite these restrictions,
there is ample opportunity to capture the
imagination of your target audience.
• Advertisements appear virtually everywhere
there is space – in supermarkets, in residential
building lobbies and in elevators.
• Make sure you go in to Chinese advertising as
part of a culturally sensitive team – don’t do it
alone!
THANK YOU!
Eion Murdock
LEHMAN, LEE & XU
Beijing
[email protected]
www.lehmanlaw.com