USE OF ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EXPRESSIONS IN THE ADVERTISEMENT

The Advertisement Board at the Ministry of Trade (“Board”) published a decision (“Decision”) dated 9 October 2025 (File Number: 2025/3250, Meeting Decision Number:28) regarding the legal compliance of advertisements and promotions displayed in a centrally located retail store in Istanbul.

Pursuant to Article 63(1) of Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers (“Law”), the Board is vested with the authority, inter alia, to determine the principles applicable to commercial advertising, to protect consumers against unfair commercial practices, to carry out examinations and to decide on various sanctions and/or corrective measures.

In the present case, following an inspection carried out by the municipal police at the advertiser’s store on 31 October 2024, it was established that the advertiser promoted its products at its physical retail store through poster advertisements bearing the wording “All New Season Items – %40 Off – Sale”.

In this context, the Board assessed whether or not the use of English-language expressions in the advertisement, necessitating knowledge of a foreign language and lacking Turkish equivalents, could causeconfusion for part of the consumer public. As a result of its review, the Board determined that the phrase “All New Season Items – %40 Off – Sale” required knowledge of a foreign language and was therefore liable to cause confusion among certain consumers.

The Decision further indicated that, in order to prevent any potential misunderstanding, advertising texts containing foreign-language expressions must also include their Turkish equivalents  for consumers who do not know that foreign language.

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