The Advertising Board found irregularities in 131 out of 141 files. It was decided to impose a total of 32.5 million lira in administrative fines and suspend the advertisements.

In a statement made by the Ministry of Commerce, it was stated that out of the 141 files that the Board decided on in its meeting on March 13, 131 were found to be non-compliant with the legislation, and a temporary suspension decision was made for one file. The statement noted that in addition to the suspension penalties for files found to be non-compliant with the legislation, a total of 32,481,507 lira in administrative fines were imposed, and administrative measures of access restrictions were decided to be implemented in 5 files to prevent consumer grievances. The statement highlighted that the meeting addressed advertisements and commercial practices affecting consumers’ economic preferences and benefits, pointing out issues related to discounted sales in the clothing sector, advertisements in the technology sector that did not reflect the specified features in the product or that these features could not be used in Turkey, and misleading advertisements made with zero interest promises. It was stated that the audit on discounted sales campaigns closely followed by the Advertising Board also covered the apparel sector.

It was reported that administrative fines of 4.8 million lira were imposed for 8 files in which irregularities were detected. The statement pointed out that an advertising violation was found in the advertisement that the company operating in the technology sector made, implying that all mobile phone models in the same category had a special feature, even though some models in this category did not have the specified feature. It was noted that consumers were directed to purchase by not disclosing information that would affect their purchasing decisions in the main message of the advertisement. Therefore, it was evaluated that the advertisements that do not include exceptional information in the main message of the advertisement deceive and mislead consumers and an administrative sanction was decided.

INSPECTION OF ZERO INTEREST LOAN ADVERTISEMENTS

In the statement, it was emphasized that automotive companies had turned to campaigns conducted with the theme of “zero percent interest” in the automotive sector. It was stated: “In this context, although there is a ‘cash advance interest’ in the automotive sector, the credit interest rate was stated as ‘zero percent’ in the main message of the advertisement, indicating that the main message of the advertisement manipulates consumer preferences by making promotions with zero interest to influence the consumer’s purchase decision despite the cash advance interest leading the consumer to bear the interest burden. Additionally, it was determined that annual and monthly cost rates showing the total cost of the credit, which are mandatory to be stated for consumers to choose the most suitable credit offer and to ensure fair competition in the sector, were not disclosed in advertisements containing the interest rate. Furthermore, it was found that the main promise influencing the economic behavior of consumers, such as ‘zero percent interest,’ did not reflect reality, and the advertisements that were considered misleading to consumers were decided to be temporarily suspended.” The statement mentioned that some shoes sold in Turkey had descriptions on foreign websites stating that pig leather was used in the product component, while the product descriptions on the sales pages in Turkey used terms such as “leather” and “genuine leather”, thereby inadequately informing consumers about the product content. It was reported that suspension penalties and administrative fines amounting to 3,457,160 lira were imposed on 4 companies found to have inadequately informed consumers about the product content.