Fairness Commission: "Stop advertising" stickers must be observed
«No Advertising» stickers on mailboxes must be respected. With this decision, the Swiss Fair Trading Commission ruled in favor of a consumer who had regularly received a magazine from the drugstore and pharmacy chain Sun Store, even though his mailbox bore a «No Advertising» sign.
"Stop advertising" stickers on letterboxes must be observed. With this decision, the Swiss Commission for Fair Trading, the self-regulatory body of the advertising industry, has ruled in favor of a consumer. The man had regularly received a magazine from the drugstore and pharmacy chain Sun Store, despite the "No advertising" sign on his letterbox. He therefore filed a complaint with the Fairness Commission
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Sun Stores argued that the magazine was an information magazine for which the sticker was irrelevant. However, the Fairness Commission ruled in favor of the consumer. It based its decision on the criteria of the WEMF for advertising media research and Swiss Post. According to these criteria, publications are considered to be newspapers or magazines if they are not primarily used for business purposes or advertising. They must also have an editorial content of at least 15 percent. This refers to articles written by a responsible editorial team for information, entertainment or education. In contrast, all types of overt or covert advertising are considered non-editorial content. This includes, in particular, articles that conspicuously go beyond the natural need for information about products, as the Fairness Commission writes.
According to these criteria, however, the Sun Store magazine is not a magazine, but a vehicle for commercial communication, the Commission concluded. The magazine served predominantly or even exclusively to advertise the company's products and services. If the complainant received the magazine despite the sign on the letterbox, this constituted unfair, aggressive advertising within the meaning of the law, the Fair Trading Commission continued. Sun Store was therefore ordered to stop sending the magazine to the man in future.
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Sun Stores argued that the magazine was an information magazine for which the sticker was irrelevant. However, the Fairness Commission ruled in favor of the consumer. It based its decision on the criteria of the WEMF for advertising media research and Swiss Post. According to these criteria, publications are considered to be newspapers or magazines if they are not primarily used for business purposes or advertising. They must also have an editorial content of at least 15 percent. This refers to articles written by a responsible editorial team for information, entertainment or education. In contrast, all types of overt or covert advertising are considered non-editorial content. This includes, in particular, articles that conspicuously go beyond the natural need for information about products, as the Fairness Commission writes.
According to these criteria, however, the Sun Store magazine is not a magazine, but a vehicle for commercial communication, the Commission concluded. The magazine served predominantly or even exclusively to advertise the company's products and services. If the complainant received the magazine despite the sign on the letterbox, this constituted unfair, aggressive advertising within the meaning of the law, the Fair Trading Commission continued. Sun Store was therefore ordered to stop sending the magazine to the man in future.
