Advertising in the media is regulated on two separate axes: broadcasting legislation (Law No. 6112) and consumer legislation (the Advertising Board and the relevant regulation).

The Definition in Law No. 6112: Commercial Communication

Art. 3 of Law No. 6112 defines surreptitious commercial communication: the presentation, by a media service provider for the purpose of advertising or in a way capable of directing the public, of the activity, trade mark, name, service and product of a goods or service producer, outside advertising breaks and without a sound or image explaining that advertising is being done.

We cover the sanction for surreptitious advertising in the surreptitious advertising guide and the separation of advertising breaks in the ad break guide.

Product Placement

Law No. 6112 also governs product placement and sets a limit: products whose commercial communication is prohibited may not be used in product placement.

On prohibited products see the alcohol and tobacco advertising guide.

The Revenue Share Limit

Commercial communication is also a measure in the ownership regime. Law No. 6112 Art. 19/1-d: the annual total commercial communication revenue of organisations in which a natural or legal person is a direct or indirect shareholder, where there are holdings in more than one media service provider, may not exceed thirty per cent of the sector's total commercial communication revenue.

The Print Press and News Site Side

Law No. 5187 does not regulate advertising in detail but it comes up in two places:

  • Art. 4 - the mandatory information (imprint) provision does not apply to announcements, tariffs, circulars and the like.
  • Art. 24 - those who republish news, articles and pictures published in a periodical without citing the source, and those who republish without the permission of the owner of the periodical despite the right of republication being reserved, are punished.

The Advertising Area Limit in the Press Card Regime

Art. 15(c) of the Press Card Regulation sets a concrete ratio for newspapers and magazines whose staff may be issued press cards: the total area of advertisements, announcements, pictures of the same nature, ready-made blocks and side margins may not exceed one third of the surface area, and each page must be reset and laid out afresh before printing.

Advertising and Marketing Staff Cannot Get a Card

The same regime produces one further consequence: advertising and marketing titles do not appear in the Regulation's title lists, and Art. 26/2-f provides that no press card is issued to those not working in the news field, even if they work under the listed titles. We cover this in the advertising staff guide.

Official Announcements Are a Separate Regime

Commercial advertising should not be confused with official announcements. Agency Principle Decision No. 126 recalls the definition of an official announcement: Law No. 195 treated as official announcements not only the notices of public institutions but all notices "whose publication is mandatory under laws, by-laws and regulations" (even where they belong to private law legal persons).

We cover it in the union notices guide.

Summary

  • Law No. 6112 defines commercial communication and prohibits surreptitious commercial communication and product placement of prohibited products.
  • The commercial communication revenue share is capped at thirty per cent of the sector.
  • In the press card regime, advertising and margin area may not exceed one third of the surface area.
  • The consumer legislation side is a separate instrument and lies outside this article's source set.