Recently, the Dutch Advertising Code Committee confirmed the importance of a good disclaimer is. What was the case? In the beginning of last year Bruna organized a promotion during which free winter Nijntjes were distributed. consumers received one of the 26 different Nijntjes when they spend of € 5, - or more in one of the Bruna stores. In principle this promotionalmechanism is of course perfectly legal. But the problem was that there are legal restrictions on certain products. Donating premiums with the sale of cigarettes, books and strip maps is prohibited for example. And because such products are sold at Brunas, these products had to be excluded from the promotion.
It is important that the exclusion of products is properly communicated by the organizer of the promotion. Otherwise, problems may arise because consumers may feel misled when they don’t receive a Nijntje when buying a pack of cigarettes. And this is exactly what the complainant stated in this case. Fortunately, the complaint was rejected because Bruna had used a clearly visible disclaimer in its commercial communications. But this decision shows once again that it is really important to include disclaimers. Even if they are not always a positive contribution to the lay-out of an advertisement. The disclaimer has to be in a legible font and in television commercials it has to be shown at least for a few seconds so that the viewer can actually read it. This way it can be prevented that the promotional materials have to be modified or even removed or that the promotion has to stop. Maud van der Leeuw
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office Emerald House Jozef Israëlskade 48-G Amsterdam, the Netherlands t +31 (0)20 - 305 3066 www.hoogenhaak.nl |
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Recently, the Dutch Advertising Code Committee confirmed the importance of a good disclaimer is. What was the case? In the beginning of last year Bruna organized a promotion during which free winter Nijntjes were distributed. consumers received one of the 26 different Nijntjes when they spend of € 5, - or more in one of the Bruna stores. In principle this promotionalmechanism is of course perfectly legal. But the problem was that there are legal restrictions on certain products. Donating premiums with the sale of cigarettes, books and strip maps is prohibited for example. And because such products are sold at Brunas, these products had to be excluded from the promotion.
It is important that the exclusion of products is properly communicated by the organizer of the promotion. Otherwise, problems may arise because consumers may feel misled when they don’t receive a Nijntje when buying a pack of cigarettes. And this is exactly what the complainant stated in this case. Fortunately, the complaint was rejected because Bruna had used a clearly visible disclaimer in its commercial communications. But this decision shows once again that it is really important to include disclaimers. Even if they are not always a positive contribution to the lay-out of an advertisement. The disclaimer has to be in a legible font and in television commercials it has to be shown at least for a few seconds so that the viewer can actually read it. This way it can be prevented that the promotional materials have to be modified or even removed or that the promotion has to stop. Maud van der Leeuw