Definition of advertising spokespersons and advertising endorsement activities: According to the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China, advertising spokespersons refer to natural persons, legal persons or other organizations other than advertisers who recommend or certify goods or services in their own name or image in advertisements. An advertising endorsement activity is a commercial advertising activity in which an advertising spokesperson is entrusted by an advertiser (commodity operator or service provider) to recommend or prove the advertiser's goods or services in his own name or image in an advertisement.
For the "recommendation and certification of goods and services in one's own name or image" referred to in the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China, it is necessary to distinguish between the following situations: Where identity information is clearly marked in advertisements, such as names, occupations, etc., and consumers express their recommendation and proof of products, affecting consumers' purchase choices, they belong to using their own independent personality to advertise endorsements in their own name; Where scientific research units, academic institutions, technology promotion institutions, industry associations and other legal persons or other organizations recommend or certify goods or services in their name in an advertisement, it is also an advertisement endorsement; For some well-known subjects, such as: well-known literary and art workers, well-known sports workers, experts and scholars and other artists, social celebrities, etc., because of its high degree of identity recognition, although the identity is not indicated in the advertisement, but the public can identify their identity through their image, it belongs to their own image, using their own independent personality for advertising endorsement, even if it is not well known to the public in other identities, such as "×× experience officer" and so on to recommend proof, Nor can it change the identity of the advertising spokesperson; Where the content of the live broadcast constitutes a commercial advertisement in online live broadcast activities, participating in the online live broadcast, recommending or certifying goods or services in one's own name or image, shall perform the legal responsibilities and obligations of the advertising spokesperson; In variety shows containing commercial implanted advertisements, participating artists, social celebrities, etc., have made recommendations and proofs in their own names for the implanted goods and services (such as through creative interpolation, plot design, and other forms of advertising), which meet the definition of advertising spokespersons, and shall perform the legal responsibilities and obligations of advertising spokespersons; Advertisers and their staff recommend and certify the goods or services they are promoting, and generally do not think that they are advertising spokespersons; If the advertisement does not indicate its identity and it is difficult for the public to identify it, it is not a recommendation of goods or services based on its own independent personality, which can be considered to be an advertising performance, rather than an advertising endorsement; Advertising spokespersons who have established an advertising endorsement relationship accept the entrustment of advertisers and advertising operators to publish advertisements through their own websites or Internet media with legal use rights (including various types of self-media and social media), and at the same time constitute the advertising publishers of the Internet advertisements.
Natural, legal or other organizations that cannot act as spokespersons for commercial advertisements: Government and its staff; minors under the age of 10; natural persons, legal persons or other organizations that have made recommendations in false advertisements or proved to have received administrative punishments for less than three years; natural persons who have been investigated and punished by the public security organs for drug abuse for less than three years or who have not yet quit drug addiction.
Advertisements for goods or services endorsed by advertising spokespersons or some special subjects must not be used: Advertisements for medical, pharmaceutical, medical devices, health foods, and formula foods for special medical purposes must not use advertising spokespersons as recommendations or certificates; educational and training advertisements must not use the names or images of scientific research units, academic institutions, educational institutions, industry associations, professionals, and beneficiaries as recommendations or certificates; and goods or services such as investment promotion and other goods or services with expected return on investment must not use the names or images of academic institutions, industry associations, professionals, or beneficiaries as recommendations or certificates; Advertisements for pesticides, veterinary drugs, feed and feed additives, crop seeds, forest seeds, grass seeds, breeding stock and poultry, aquatic fry and breeding shall not use the names or images of scientific research units, academic institutions, technical promotion agencies, industry associations or professionals or users to make recommendations or certifications; food advertisements shall not use food inspection agencies or food industry associations to recommend to consumers; consumer organizations shall not recommend goods and services to consumers in commercial advertisements by charging fees or other means of obtaining benefits Product quality inspection institutions shall not recommend producers' products to the public in commercial advertisements; other laws and administrative regulations stipulate that advertising spokespersons must not be used as recommendations or proofs.
Advertising endorsement activities should adhere to the correct orientation and not have the following orientation problems: Use celebrity entertainers who have committed violations of laws and crimes, violations of public order and good customs, etc. to carry out advertising endorsements; endorsements are made by playing the image of party and state leaders, heroes and martyrs, or functionaries of state organs; commercial propaganda is carried out on the basis of serious political issues, and commercial marketing propaganda for violations of laws and regulations such as classics and distorting history is used.
The basic code of conduct to be followed in carrying out endorsement activities:
Compliance with laws and regulations, advertisers, advertising agents, advertising publishers, advertising spokespersons and their brokerage companies shall consciously abide by the provisions of national laws, administrative regulations, and rules, follow industry self-discipline norms and management systems, adhere to the correct advertising orientation, and the content of advertising endorsements shall be true and legal, and display the advertising content in a healthy form, in line with the requirements of the construction of socialist spiritual civilization and the promotion of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation.
Signing a written contract, advertisers, advertising agents, advertising publishers, advertising spokespersons and their brokerage companies shall conclude a written contract in accordance with law to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties. The parties to the advertising contract may clarify the follow-up disposal methods and responsibilities in the advertising endorsement activities due to the fault of one party, such as the occurrence of illegal crimes, serious quality and safety problems, violations of public order and good customs, etc., and conscientiously perform them.
Advertising spokespersons and their brokerage companies need to focus on the following matters in advertising endorsement activities:
Conduct review of advertising content, review the categories and advertising content of the endorsed goods or services before carrying out advertising endorsement activities. Advertising spokespersons and their brokerage companies should fully understand and confirm that advertisers have obtained legal business qualifications, and the goods or services endorsed do not belong to products or services that laws or administrative regulations prohibit the production or sale of, and do not belong to goods or services that laws or administrative regulations prohibit the publication of advertisements or prohibit advertising endorsements.
Use of Goods or Acceptance of Services, advertising Spokespersons need to use goods or receive services before recommending or certifying. When using goods or receiving services, the advertising spokesperson should confirm that the goods used or the services received are consistent with the advertisement, and recommend that a written record of the use of the goods or services be kept as proof of subsequent confirmation of the performance of relevant legal obligations. Advertising spokespersons using goods or receiving services shall adopt habits and methods recognized by ordinary consumers. In the process of using goods or receiving services, if the advertising spokesperson discovers or suspects that the goods or services are suspected of being counterfeit or inferior, he shall promptly understand the situation, and when necessary, may refuse the endorsement and report to the relevant departments.
Advertisers need to focus on the following things in their advertising endorsement campaigns:
Select spokespersons carefully, before organizing advertising endorsement activities, advertisers need to conduct background content reviews and daily conduct investigations on advertising spokespersons, do not select minors under the age of 10 to serve as advertising endorsements, and avoid selecting artists or celebrities who have committed illegal crimes or violated public order and good customs, or natural persons, legal persons or other organizations that make recommendations in false advertisements or prove that they have been subject to administrative penalties for less than three years to conduct advertising endorsements.
Providing products or services, advertisers need to truthfully provide true and comprehensive information on goods or services to the advertising spokesperson, take the initiative to provide the endorsement goods or services to the advertising spokesperson for use, truthfully record the use process, the effect of use, and save relevant evidence. If the advertising spokesperson is unable to use the goods and services or refuses to use them, the advertising endorsement activity shall be terminated.
Promptly dispose of illegal endorsement advertisements, in the process of cooperation with the advertising spokesperson, if the advertising spokesperson discovers that the advertising spokesperson has committed illegal or criminal acts, violated public order and customs, or the situation that laws and regulations stipulate that endorsements are prohibited, they may promptly stop publishing endorsement advertisements by means of suspension or withdrawal, so as to reduce the negative impact on the brand, and take the initiative to report to the relevant departments.
If you have any question, please contact me.
Mr. Mike Chang (Partner)
Email: mikechang@shanghaiinvest.com