Marketing and advertising: the law

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Regulations that affect advertising

Advertising to consumers

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations mean you cannot mislead or harass consumers by, for example:

  • including false or deceptive messages
  • leaving out important information
  • using aggressive sales techniques

Read ‘The consumer protection from unfair trading regulations’ for the rules on advertising legally.

Advertising to businesses

Advertising to businesses is covered by the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations. As well as being accurate and honest, you must not make misleading comparisons with competitors, that includes:

  • using a competitor’s logo or trademark, or something very similar
  • comparing your product with a competitor’s product that’s not the same

Download ‘The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008’ for more detail about the regulations that cover advertising to businesses.

Penalties

If you break the regulations, you could be reported to a local Trading Standards office. You could be fined, prosecuted or imprisoned.