Contents x
    9. Advertising Aspects
    • 5 Mins to read
    • Dark
      Light
    Contents

    9. Advertising Aspects

    • 5 Mins to read
    • Dark
      Light
    Article summary

    Beers, RTDs, Whisky
    China


    This section provides information on regulations on advertising and if there are any restrictions or approval processes.

    9.1 Applicable Advertising Regulation

    General Foods

    1. Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China [1]
    2. Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China [2]
    3. Comprehensive Enforcement Guidelines for Absolute Terminology in Advertising [3]

    Category

    Alcoholic drinks

    Same as "General Foods" above.

    Product

    Beer

    Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    Ready-to-drink beverages (mainly Chuhai)

    Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    Whisky

    Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    9.2 Specific Restrictions on Advertising

    General Foods

    According to “Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China “[1], the content of food advertisements shall be true and legal, shall not contain false content, and shall not involve the function of disease prevention and treatment. Food producers and traders shall be responsible for the authenticity and legality of the contents of food advertisements.

    According to “Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China” [2], the following requirements are mandatory:

    1. The advertisement Shall NOT contain any of the following:

    1. The use or disguised use of the national flag, national anthem, national emblem, military flag, military song, and military emblem of the People's Republic of China.
    2. The use or disguised use of the names or images of state organs and their functionaries.
    3. Use terms such as "national", "highest”, “best", etc. absolutist terms.
    4. Harm the dignity or interests of the state, divulge state secrets.
    5. Impeding social stability and harming social public interests.
    6. Endanger personal and property safety, divulge personal privacy.
    7. Impeding social public order or violating social good manners.
    8. Contains obscenity, pornography, gambling, superstition, terror, and violent content.
    9. Contains ethnic, racial, religious, and sexist content.
    10. Impeding the protection of the environment, natural resources, or cultural heritage.
    11. Other circumstances prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.

    2. With the exception of advertisements for medical treatment, drugs, and medical devices, it is prohibited to use any other advertisements involving the function of disease treatment, and may not use medical terms or terms that may easily confuse the marketed commodities with drugs and medical devices.

    3. Where the matters involved in the content of an advertisement need to obtain an administrative license, it shall be consistent with the content of the license. Where an advertisement uses data, statistics, survey results, abstracts, quotations, etc., it shall be true, and accurate and indicate the source. Where the content of the citation has a scope of application and validity period, it shall be clearly stated.

    4. An advertisement that deceives or misleads consumers with false or misleading content shall constitute a false advertisement. An advertisement is a false advertisement under any of the following circumstances:

    1. Goods or services that do not exist.
    2. The performance, function, origin, use, quality, specifications, ingredients, price, producer, validity period, sales status, honors, and other information of the commodity, or the content, provider, form, quality, price, sales status, honors and other information related to the commodity or service does not conform to the actual situation, has a material impact on purchasing behavior.
    3. Using fictitious, forged, or unverifiable scientific research results, statistical data, investigation results, abstracts, quotations, and other information as evidence.
    4. Fictitious effects of using goods or receiving services.
    5. Other circumstances in which false or misleading content is used to deceive or mislead consumers.

    Category

    Alcoholic drinks

    In addition to General Foods restrictions on advertising (as described above), according to the “Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China” [1], alcohol advertisements Shall NOT:

    1. Induce, encourage, or promote excessive drinking
    2. Include signs of drinking
    3. Include performing activities such as driving a car, boat, plane, etc.
    4. Express or imply that drinking alcohol has the effect of eliminating tension and anxiety, increasing physical strength, etc.

    According to the “Comprehensive Enforcement Guidelines for Absolute Terminology in Advertising” [3]:

    The following circumstances are exempt from the provisions of the Advertising Law regarding the use of absolute terms in advertisements if the absolute terms do not refer to the goods being promoted by the advertiser:

    1. The absolute terms are used solely to indicate the advertiser's service attitude, business philosophy, corporate culture, or subjective aspirations.
    2. The absolute terms are used solely to express the advertiser's goals or aspirations.
    3. The content referred to by the absolute terms has no direct connection with the performance or quality of the goods being promoted in the advertisement and will not mislead consumers in other circumstances.

    The following circumstances are exempt from the provisions of the Advertising Law regarding the use of absolute terms in advertisements if the absolute terms refer to the goods being promoted by the advertiser but do not objectively result in misleading consumers or disparaging other operators:

    1. The absolute terms are used solely for self-comparison of goods within the same brand or the same enterprise.
    2. The absolute terms are used solely for consumer tips regarding the usage methods, usage time, or shelf life of the goods.
    3. The absolute terms are contained in product grading terminology that is based on national standards, industry standards, local standards, etc., and the basis can be explained.
    4. The absolute terms are contained in the product name, specifications, registered trademark, or patent, and the advertisement uses the product name, specifications, registered trademark, or patent to refer to the product in order to distinguish it from other products.
    5. The absolute terms are contained in awards or titles that are evaluated in accordance with relevant national regulations.
    6. The absolute terms are used to describe objective temporal or spatial sequences under specific conditions of time, location, etc., or to promote factual information about product sales volume, sales revenue, market share, etc.

    If the authenticity of the circumstances in the above two provisions cannot be proven, they will be investigated and dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law.

    Product

    Beer

    Same as "General Foods" and "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    Ready-to-drink beverages (mainly Chuhai)

    Same as "General Foods" and "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    Whisky

    Same as "General Foods" and "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    9.3 Advertising Approval

    General Foods

    According to the “Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China “[1] and the “Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China “[2], General Foods advertising is not required to be approved before publication by SAMR. However, the content and behavior of General Foods advertising shall not violate the “Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China “[1], “Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China “[2], and other relevant laws and regulations.

    Category

    Alcoholic drinks

    Same as "General Foods" above.

    Product

    Beer

    Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    Ready-to-drink beverages (mainly Chuhai)

    Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    Whisky

    Same as "Category" (alcoholic drinks) above.

    9.4 Other Notes or Requirements for Advertising

    N/A

    9.5 References

    1. Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China 

    https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/fgs/art/2023/art_6bff4ef87291497fa72949e1fc88efb5.html 

    2. Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China 

    https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/fgs/art/2023/art_5474cf75173c45d6a0379730fb4e8d97.html

    3. Comprehensive Enforcement Guidelines for Absolute Terminology in Advertising  

    https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/ggjgs/art/2023/art_64279265c896452f8f638f2de12b8003.html


    Was this article helpful?
    What's Next