The advertisements and promotions pertaining to hygiene and health care products have increased in number in parallel with the necessities arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The advertisement types subject to special regulations of relevant legislation, including testimonial and comparative advertising practices, have been exercised. The diversity in the advertisements and promotions has been reflected in the decisions of the Advertisement Board and the fundamental notions of the Advertisement Law were once again addressed.
Primarily, by a decision of November, the Advertisement Board held that the statement and images claiming that antibacterial wet wipe safeguards from Coronavirus, although its effect against the Coronavirus has been proven, are misleading and perturbing public health; since the risk of virus transmission from patients through droplets is still possible. In order to prevent any conclusion that the virus shall not be transmitted when the product is used, the advertiser was ordered to cease the referred advertisements.
As the advertisements of biocidal products showed a significant increase, the Advertisement Board has strictly reviewed the advertisements of these products. Where advertisement of the products without proper biocidal products license was determined the Advertisement Board ruled to cease the said advertisements, imposed severe administrative monetary fines to the advertisers.
The Advertisement Board also investigated the testimonials for advertisements of hygienic products. In the pandemic era where doctors, dentists and pharmacists were featured on numerous products’ advertisements by restrictively interpreting the Article 16/3 of the Advertisement Regulation which reads as “Advertisements shall contain no image, statement or reference that indicates or creates the impression that doctors, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists and health institutions have made a health claim regarding a good or a service.” and taking into account the anxiety caused by the pandemic in the eyes of consumers, in order to preserve the consumers, the Advertisement Board has ruled that the advertisements in which a well-known doctor recommended an antibacterial product contrary to the above-mentioned provision and for cease of the said advertisement and imposition of administrative monetary fine as well.
Thus; the product and service diversity shaped according to the needs of the consumers in the pandemic era, has been reflected in the marketing and advertising industry and this tendency has been concretized by the decisions of the Advertisement Board. The detailed examination conducted by the Advertisement Board regarding the referred products, is a positive and reasonable attitude in terms of preservation of public health and protection of consumers.