Business Promotional Materials: Advertising basics 1

Advertisements and advertising are a fundamental part of any business.

Most business people don't know much about advertising, and that ignorance can cost them a lot of money.

Depending on the nature of your business, your advertising can be cheap, small scale and effective.

Important Note:

It's very strongly advised to learn the ins and outs of advertising, before making any big outlay of time, effort or money on advertising.

You must know the legal aspects of advertising .

All advertising has related laws.

These laws include commercial and consumer law, and may include civil claims.

The basic requirements of advertising law are:

All claims made in the advertising are correct.
All terms of sale advertised are correct and legally binding on the advertiser.

The basic requirements of consumer law are:

Items purchased are suitable for the purpose for which they're bought.
Products are subject to product safety laws, and any applicable statutory regulations or restrictions related to the class of goods.

The basic requirements of commercial law are:

Terms of sale are carried out in accordance with your ads.
No misrepresentation of goods, warranties, or services is allowable.

The basic requirements of civil law are:

Claims may be made under civil law for things like damages, injury, etc.
Some civil claims may also relate to commercial, consumer and advertising law.

Any breach of any of these requirements can result in legal action.

You can see why you need to understand advertising law. These are the basics, and some situations can be extremely complex and expensive, if you don't do things properly.

Advertising laws relating to your own business

You know the laws in your own field. Advertising law applies to them, too.

You can't advertise anything which is a breach of law, even unintentionally.

Advertising law is actually quite logical.

If, for example, you're a used car salesman, you can't sell vehicles which don't have roadworthy certificates, pretending they're roadworthy. That's illegal, and you'd lose your license while buyers sued you for misrepresentation.

You could advertise them for sale, however, as used vehicles without roadworthy certificates, sold on an 'as is' basis as the terms of sale.

The example below shows compliance with applicable laws, and spells out in detail the terms of sale. The condition of the products is also accurately represented.

It will be noted that terms of sale expressly state these vehicles are not under any implied warranty, and that purchasers assume full responsibility for compliance with applicable road and safety laws.

Example:

USED CARS, NO REGISTRATION OR ROADWORTHY CERTIFICATES, FOR SALE.

We have hundreds of old vehicles, out of registration, in various states of repair, with no certificates of roadworthiness, for sale. You can use them for parts, or for collector's vehicle restoration.

Important Terms of sale:

These vehicles are sold in 'as is' condition.
The vehicles are not sold under any implied warranty.
Purchasers assume full responsibility for the vehicles after completion of sales, including compliance with all applicable road and safety laws.
The vehicles, when purchased, may not be driven by purchasers on our premises, and must be towed or carried off the premises.
No liability is assumed by this firm for any breach of applicable road safety or other relevant laws by purchasers.

Purchasers please note that these terms of sale are not negotiable, and no exceptions will be made to any of the above terms.

Disclaimer

Please note:

This text is intended for advisory and guideline purposes only.
Any business letter can become a legal document, so check your content properly before issuing.
Any executable or statutorily defined document should be checked for compliance with legal requirements, and you should seek legal advice regarding its contents.