ADVERTISING BY JSC CHERRY MEDIA LT (FORMER BETA.LT) WAS MISLEADING

Competition Council (KT) found that JSC Cherry Media LT (further Company) on the websites www.grupinis.lt and www.beta.lt had been disseminating misleading advertisements as to the true value of goods and duration of the advertising campaign.

According to the KT’s experts, the Company failed to provide substantial proves of advertising claims. Additional data collected by the KT’s experts lead to a conclusion that the promoted value and duration of the advertising campaign proved to be fake. Lithuanian courts have already noted that the truthfulness of advertising claims is a duty of a trader.

Having evaluated all the circumstances, the KT imposed a fine of 17 100 LTL (  ̴ 4 953 EUR) on the Company for misleading advertising.

The KT is strongly involved into competition advocacy, including advertising issues. KT regularly organises seminars to associations, in 2013 presented the Guidelines on Assessment of Misleading and Unlawful Comparative Advertising (the Guidelines). Together with the Guidelines the KT’s experts prepared a brief wherein the most important criteria for advertising assessment permitted and prohibited claims and other relevant information is presented in a concise and precise manner.

Figures tell the story: in 2013 the KT’s experts examined 300 complaints about allegedly misleading advertising and sent 119 requests to amend an advertisement or terminate its dissemination, where as only seven companies were fined for breaching the Law on Advertising.