New law to govern advertising
No advertising of goods and services can include false statements or statements that deliberately cause confusion; direct comparison of price, quality, or effectiveness with other products and services of the same type; or words such as "best", "unique", "number one", or other words with similar meaning without legal documents to prove the claim as regulated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Under the new law, the following categories of goods and services are barred from advertising: (i) tobacco; (ii) alcoholic beverages of 15 proof or more; (iii) milk products replacing mother’s milk for children under 24 months old, as well as dietary supplements for children under six months old, feeding bottles and artificial nipples; (iv) prescription medicines; (v) products claiming aphrodisiac properties, (vi) guns and ammunition for hunting or sports, as well as products and goods stimulating violence, and (vii) other goods and services prohibited from advertising as regulated by the Government.
The Law on Advertising also stipulates that advertisers of medicines must receive a permit. Advertisements of cosmetics, foods and food additives are also subject to various requirements of publishing ingredients and/or compliance with quality standards.
A newspaper may not sell advertisements in excess of 15 per cent of its total page space, while a magazine may not sell in excess of 20 per cent of its total page space. Advertising inserts are not subject to these limitations, but may only be published after notification to relevant authorities at least 30 days prior to the first publishing date of the insert.
Likewise, advertising on radio or television many not exceed 10 per cent of total broadcasting time in a day, except for advertising on channels or programmes dedicated to home shopping. This limit falls to 5 per cent for pay television channels. The law also includes provisions on online and "pop-up" advertising.
For advertisements via SMS and email, there must be prior consent of the recipients. IAdvertising via SMS can only take place between 7am and 10pm, and a single phone number or email address cannot receive more than three SMS or email messages within 24 hours unless otherwise agreed.
Chapter IV of Advertising Law stipulates several matters related to advertisements of foreign organisations and individuals in Viet Nam, foreign investment and co-operation in advertising and representative offices of foreign advertising agencies in Viet Nam.
The Law on Advertising abolishes provisions in the Ordinance on Advertising restricting the operation of foreign marketing agencies, consistent with the nation’s WTO commitments. The new law takes effect next January 1, 2012
