A new advertising code came in on 1 March that means all financial advertising needs to demonstrates a high standard of social responsibility.
The code means advertisers must ensure their financial advertisements disclose all relevant information and is done in a way that truthfully represents the product or service.
Lawyers at Dentons, Kensington, Swan say the principle of social responsibility is in the spirit of the Advertising Standards Authority code and you don’t have to break the rules to breach the code.
The new rules govern the content of advertisements that are controlled directly or indirectly by the advertiser, expressed in any language, and communicated in any medium with the intent to influence the choice, opinion or behaviour of those to whom it is addressed, states the law firm.
The new code applies to all financial advertising and parties to an advertisement, including the advertiser, agencies and media organisations, and covers all advertising mediums including, email, websites, social media, and influencers, among others.
“Financial advertising must be prepared and placed with a high standard of social responsibility to consumers and society,” states the law firm. “The rule under this principle requires advertising to be easily understood by consumers.”
To achieve this, the code provides the following guidelines:
- All relevant and required information must be disclosed
- Care must be taken to ensure that key disclosed information is understood in proportion to the importance of that information
- Written text must be large and clear enough to be readable. As well as that, spoken language must be presented clearly and at a pace able to be understood by consumers
- Financial advice may only be included in financial advertising content from licensed individuals or entities
- Financial advertising posted online by entities that are not licensed financial advice providers must also comply with the principles and rules in the code
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Advertisers and their agents are also responsible for ensuring user-generated comments, reviews testimonials and endorsements comply with the code when they form part of the advertisement
A copy of the new Code can be found here.