Advertising Do's And Don'ts

Summary

DO's

• Do fully and clearly disclose all material information in the advertisement.
• Do avoid using terms or phrases in an advertisement that are not meaningful and clear to the ordinary person.
• Do avoid fine print disclaimers. They often fail to change the general impression conveyed by an advertisement. If you do use them, make sure the overall impression created by the ad and the disclaimer is not misleading.
• Do ensure that your sales force is familiar with the "Advertising Do's and Don'ts" as an advertiser may be held responsible for representations made by employees.
• Do use the Director's Program of Compliance - contact the Competition Bureau, Industry Canada for details*.
• Do ensure that you have reasonable quantities of a product advertised at a bargain price.

DON'Ts

• Don't use the word 'sale' or 'special' unless a significant price reduction has occurred.
• Don't increase the price of the product or service to cover the cost of a 'free' product or service.
• Don't make a performance claim before you can substantiate it, even if you think it is accurate.
• Don't use illustrations that are different from the description of the product actually being sold.
• Don't overuse disclaimers.
• Don't run a 'sale' for a long period or repeat it every week.
• Don't use 'regular price' in an advertisement unless it is the price at which the product is usually sold.
• Don't confuse regular price with manufacturer's suggested list price, they are often not the same.
• Don't forget that no one actually needs to be actually misled in order to convince a court that an advertisement is misleading.
• Don't forget that the 'Public' includes the ignorant and credulous as well as the knowledgeable and sophisticated.
• Don't forget that ignorance is not a valid defence.
• Don't sell a product above your advertised price.

For more information, please contact the Competition Bureau, Industry Canada.
Phone: 1-800-348-5358 
Web site: http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca

Source: Competition Bureau, Industry Canada
Prepared by: Saskatchewan Regional Economic and Co-operative Development