On March, 13 Russian president Putin signed a federal law “On advertising”. It contains general requirements for advertising and its circulation, restricts the advertising of certain products, as well as defines the ground for state control in the sphere.

There are several novelties in the law. Thus, from now on a sponsor is to be a physical or a juridical body exclusively, which renders impossible the advertising of separate goods as a sponsor of any event. Besides, the law prohibits advertising the so-called umbrella brands. The phenomenon means advertising a certain product (which it is prohibited to advertise) instead of another one. The ban primarily concerns spirits.

At the same time the law restricts spirits advertising in mass media. It is, for example, banned to place spirits advertisements at the forefront and the last lines of newspapers and magazines. Besides, the advertisement of spirits, low alcohol cocktails and tobacco on TV, billboards and on all the kinds of vehicles is from now on prohibited. The law banns displaying the process of smoking and drinking spirits in any advertisement. The rules for advertising beer are made stricter. Beer-producers are prohibited to sponsor sporting events. In addition the law foresees the ban on combining advertisement with road signs in both directions.

Besides, the requirements for drugs advertising were altered. It is prohibited to use the images of medical personnel there. Restricted is the use of juniors’ images in the advertisements of spirits, tobacco and other goods, which may turn to be socially pernicious. The law attempts to check “discrediting parental authority” by prohibiting the advertisement, where children beg their parents to buy a certain product.

From the year of 2008 the amount of advertisement in Russian electronic media is not to exceed 15% of the airtime per hour. Thus, a bloc of advertisement is to be limited to 4 minutes and all the types of advertisement in total are to last for no more than 9 minutes per hour. Moreover, advertising should start after a preventive message.

The responsibility to control over the execution of the law is placed on the Federal Antimonopoly service, which possesses the necessary authority.