The Singapore Code of Advertising Authority (the Code) seeks to promote a high standard of ethics for local advertising activities through self-regulation. It is modelled after national law and international law and practice, including the International Code of Advertising Practice of the International Chamber of Commerce.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore Council (ASAS) enforces and uses the Code to regulate local advertising activities, and keeps it up to date.
The Code seeks primary responsibility upon the advertiser. However, advertising agencies or other organisations involved in the publication of an advertisement are required to comply with the Code as well.
Even with the top advertising agency in Singapore at your disposal, you still need to be up to date with regulations regarding advertising. That's why we've provided a brief and quick rundown of the Code in this article to help you understand some of its guidelines.
Responsibilities
Under the Code, the ASAS has the following responsibilities:
While the ASAS gives advice, it is not intended to become the final clearing authority for the approval of all advertising.
Powers
Meanwhile, the Code provides the following powers to ASAS:
In making advertising complaints, the Code provides that the following steps must be followed:
The ASAS has the power to impose sanctions such as withholding of advertising space or time from promoters, and withdrawal of trading privileges from advertising agencies. Both of these sanctions are executed by media owners.
They also impose a sanction of adverse publicity, where ASAS publishes details of the outcome of its investigations naming those who violated the Code. Decisions of the ASAS on the interpretation of the Code are final.
Scope
All concerned organisations on advertising, whether they be advertisers, advertising practitioners, sales promoters, agencies, or the media must follow the Code. Moreover, all advertisements for any goods, services and facilities in any form or media in Singapore, regardless of their origin, must comply with the Code.
Interpretation
There are a few rules in the interpretation and enforcement of the Code as provided:
A. Legality, decency, and honesty
The contents of advertisements should be legal and should not incite anyone to break the law. Moreover, they should not violate the ethical code of recognised professional bodies in Singapore.
An advertising campaign should not be offensive to the standards of decency of its audience, should not abuse their trust, nor exploit their lack of experience or expertise.
B. Fear, superstition, violence
Advertisements should not play on fear without any justifiable reason. Advertisers can use appeal to fear to encourage prudent behaviour as long as it should not be disproportionate to the risk.
Moreover, advertisements should not exploit the superstitious, they should not contain anything that might lead to violent acts and anti-social behaviour.
C. Truthful presentation
In any instance, advertisements should not mislead consumers through inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission, or through other acts.
If any presentation, such as a speech or documentary, is substantial to an advertisement, it should be clearly stated as an advertisement.
D. Safety
Advertisements should not show any act that disregards safety unless it's justifiable on educational or social grounds. When an advertisement is directed towards or depicted children and young people, it should be taken with special care.
E. Portrayal of persons
All persons should be portrayed in a manner that respects their dignity. No advertisement should promote a person as a commodity.
F. Children and young people
Advertisements should not exploit the naivety of children, and should not strain their sense of loyalty. Any marketing addressed to children or likely to influence them should not contain information that would harm them mentally, morally, or physically.
G. Social values
Advertisements should not in any way distort the perception of Singaporeans in their own country, nor are they derogatory to Singapore as a democratic country.
No discrimination must be made against any ethnic group or religion, nor downplay the importance of mutual dependence amongst all groups.
H. Family values
Advertisements should not undermine the importance of the family and discredit the love, support and affection among family members. It should not discourage supporting and providing for parents and grandparents in their old age.
I. Non-denigration
Advertisements should not directly or impliedly attack nor discredit other products, organisations, or professions.
J. Non-exploitation of goodwill or intellectual property
Advertisements should not unjustifiably use the trademarks nor take unfair advantage of the goodwill of other firms, companies, or institutions. It must not also take unfair advantage of the goodwill earned from other's advertising and promotion campaigns.
K. Non-imitation
Advertisements should not plagiarise which would mislead or confuse consumers or unduly imitate distinctive campaigns of international marketers which prevents them from extending their campaigns for some time in the countries they operate.
L. National Symbols
Proper regard must be given to any Singapore national symbol that may be used in the promotion. Corresponding details may be obtained from the offices of the Prime Minister or the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.
1. Matters of fact
All information including descriptions, claims and comparisons that relate to determinable facts should be available for validation. Advertising agencies are required to hold this proof ready for immediate production upon request of the ASAS without delay.
2. Use of research results
If an advertisement has a factual claim supported by independent research, the advertiser should be able to show that the authors of the research acknowledge that the advertisement is an accurate depiction of their research.
3. Use of testimonials
Testimonials or endorsements must be genuine.
It should not be used, however, if they are related to exceptional experiences, in a way that an average user would not experience it.
4. Expression of opinion
Advertisements have the freedom to express opinions, including assessments of product quality as long as it's clearly stated and consumers are not misled by any determinable objective fact. Further, marketers must be prepared to explain, when requested, why they believe that the opinion conforms to the Code without delay.
5. Quotation of prices
Prices must be indicated to which product or version it relates including the GST. If the marketing uses an illustration, the price shown must correspond to the illustration shown. If the quoted price is not for the entirety of the product, it must be clearly stated together with any additional cost.
6. Associated purchases
It must be clearly and prominently stated in the advertisement if a product can't be purchased without purchasing other product/s from the marketer.
7. Use of the word “free”
If a product is promoted as "free", any incidental cost which may be incurred by the consumer must be stated clearly.
Promoters should not recover the cost of the product by imposing additional fees or by altering the quality of the product.
8. Use of the word “discount”
If a product is advertised with a discount, the discounted price must be lower than the original price and can't be offered indefinitely. The word "discount" shouldn't be used if consumers would believe that the reduced price is the usual price.
9. Comparisons
Advertisements with comparisons should be clean and fair, and should not mislead consumers. The products compared to should not be chosen to induce unfair advantage. If there's a comparison of prices of non-identical goods, it must be indicated.
10. Availability of products
Marketers should ensure that they have an adequate supply for the foreseeable demand generated from their advertisements. Forms of limitations on the product should be clearly expressed unless the limitation is inherent in the product.
Any promotion to assess future demand for a product is prohibited to advertise.
11. Bait advertising
Businesses should not seek to entice consumers when there's no real intent of selling the advertised product at the price offered.
12. Switch selling
It is considered sufficient evidence of misleading and unacceptable bait advertising for switch swelling if a marketer's salesman seriously belittles the cheaper product advertised or unreasonably delays delivery or places difficulties in the purchase of the product.
13. Exploitation and protection of privacy of an individual
Advertisements should not explicitly refer to any person or his property without permission. The manipulation of any person and his property or the depiction of the President and members of his family in marketing is prohibited.
Further, any marketing should not reproduce National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) or passport numbers.
13. Guarantees
Advertisements may contain the word "guarantee" or any word with the same meaning only if the guarantee it refers to improves a consumer's legal right. The full terms of the guarantee should be clear and available for the purchaser to inspect before they make their purchase.
If the guarantee has a period, it must be also clearly stated.
14. Identification of advertisers
The identity of the marketer should be clearly stated. The permanent address of the marketer should be clearly stated in mail orders, direct responses, exhibitions, trade promotions, and online advertisements.
15. Charitable Causes
If a product purchased in advertisements will support charitable causes, it should not mislead consumers on the amount of proceeds that would go to charity.
16. Legibility of Disclaimers
Disclaimers should not be in a font size smaller than the smallest font used in making claims in advertisements, however, it is still subject to a minimum size of eight. It should be legible even to the naked eye of the target audience.
1. “Sales” advertisements
In comparative prices, the higher market price must be charged for 28 consecutive days in the last 6 months unless a notice disclaiming this is displayed
To use the description "clearance sale" or other similar expressions, the merchant must be an established trader that has been in business for at least six months in Singapore. As for itinerant advertisers, their names, address and other important business information should be included in their advertisements.
2. Children and Young People
Advertisements addressed to children should not contain anything that would result in their physical, mental or moral harm or places them in hazardous situations.
They should not also exploit their vulnerability and lack of experience.
3. Interactive Advertisements
In Internet and social media advertisements, marketers are not allowed to store consumer data any longer than is necessary to properly handle an order, unless agreed upon by the customer. They should not also charge users unless a warning has been given beforehand.
4. Direct Marketing
In promoting via mail, fax, or internet such as e-mail, promotions should clearly state the business's full name and address so consumers can retain them.
Any form of direct marketing should provide information such as the main characteristics of the product or service, the amount of any transport charge, and the estimated delivery time among others.
5. Medicinal and Related Products and Health Claims
Any claim of professional support for a health product and any reference to any published or peer-reviewed test or research must be substantiated. References to healthcare professionals should refer only to those registered in Singapore. If a non-healthcare professional is involved that might confuse audiences, a footnote should be given that they're not a medical doctor or equivalent.
Claims on health products should not be exaggerated or promote excessive use. For more information, there's also a separate Code for advertising regulations on health and medicine or you can access a comprehensive article regarding the PHMC guidelines.
6. Diseases to which no reference, or only limited reference, may be made in advertisements
Advertisements may not refer to any medicine, product, appliance, or device in terms that would likely lead to its use for the treatment of any disease in Appendix G of the Code. Some of the enumerated diseases are alopecia, cancer, cardiac symptoms, diabetes, epilepsy, infertility, leukaemia, tuberculosis, and ulcer.
7. Advertising for Slimming Products and Services
In general, promoters are only allowed to advertise diets for weight loss, except for water fasting and crash diets. However, they're not allowed to indicate that the ingredients of the diet plan hasten weight loss.
They may also advertise aids to diet such as supplements only when it's clear that they can only be effective when taken in conjunction with or as part of the calorie-controlled diet.
8. Hair and Scalp Products
An advertisement is not allowed to contain any promise to prevent baldness, dandruff or greasy hair, or stimulate hair growth. It may state, however, that it can control dandruff and greasy hair. Further, the promotion must contain a disclaimer that states there is no scientific proof that a product or service can promote hair growth or prevent hair loss, which can be waived for registered products approved by the Health Sciences Authority.
Individual diagnosis, prescription or treatments for any hair condition is not allowed. Businesses offering individual treatment at their premises must restrict their promotion to visiting card particulars such as business information with no illustrations. No mention must be made as to the conditions, methods and effects of the treatment.
9. Financial Services and Products
Investments must be clear and must not take advantage of the gullibility of the consumer. If a promotion contains a forecast of a growth rate, it must indicate a clear basis on which the forecast is made. For moneylender marketing, it must contain the name and license.
If a campaign includes the phrase "tax-free" or equivalent, it must qualify which taxes are involved. Any instance where the value is not guaranteed should state that the value of the investment may go down and go up.
10. Advertising for Alcoholic Drinks
Advertisements that promote alcoholic drinks should not be directed to underaged people. However, if it would be natural for children to be present such as in family situations, they may be included as long as it's clear that they're not drinking alcoholic drinks.
It should not also promote drinking on the job, in activities or in locations that would render the act unsafe or unwise, nor encourage excessive alcohol consumption.
11. Environmental Claims
If a campaign claims that it's "environmentally friendly", it should not be used without qualifications unless the marketer can provide concrete evidence.
Any qualified claims of "greener" or "friendly" is allowed if it can be substantiated that the product provides an 0verall improvement in environmental terms.
12. Employment and Business Opportunities
Marketers should distinguish between offering employment or business opportunities. If promotions are for homework schemes where participants are required to make articles, perform services or other facilities at their home, they should contain:
13. Motoring
Any promotion of motor vehicles should not promote anti-social behaviour, speeding or breaking the law, and irresponsible driving. The prices quoted must correspond to the vehicles featured, and safety claims should not be exaggerated to benefit the consumers.
14. Others
The number of limited edition products must be specified in its promotion. If the edition is limited to the number of people applying in a given time, it must be clearly stated and purchasers must be informed of the number of products eventually produced.
When a property is advertised, whether local or abroad, it should not have misleading claims nor exaggerations concerning the land, the rights or easements, law requirements, payment terms, and taxes to name a few.
15. Laws with special relevance to advertising and related trading practices
Businesses should check other national laws and instruments relevant to their specific industry's advertising to cover all regulations, or check some laws related to trading practices. Some of these statutes are the Copyright Act, Films Act or Health Products Act among many others. For other laws, you can visit statutes.agc.gov.sg for the full list.
16. Advertising for Audiotex Services
Marketing campaigns for chat and other similar interactive services must be direct that such service is available, and must not contain lewd or sexually suggestive content. It must also be direct if they're provided for a charge or not, and consumers should not be charged without a warning beforehand.
Further, marketing campaigns for chatline or related services must include the name and office number of the company, the legal age limit for callers, and warnings on the dangers of meeting with strangers met through chatlines.
The ASAS Code seeks to provide high-standard guidelines and ethics through self-regulation to organisations concerned with advertising. Compliance with the Code ensures that your marketing campaigns get published and reach your target audience.
If you're unsure of steps to take, a digital marketing expert can help you comply with Singapore regulations regarding marketing while also providing quality SEO services to maximise reach.
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