VietNamNet Bridge – New restrictions in HCM City banning the use of brand logos or pictures of products on shop advertisements have stirred concern among shop owners.

An advertisement in HCM City's Ben Thanh Ward. City authorities have banned advertisements featuring brand logos and product pictures.

However, the restrictions clearly follow the Law on Advertising issued in 2012.

Under the new rules issued under HCM City People's Committee's Instruction 15, any advertisement featuring such images must be taken down by the end of March next year.

Currently, a wide range of shops include brand logos and pictures of products on their advertisements. Logos and photos of products sold by retailers are often used on signs and billboards in the city.

For instance, food shops' signs are often added with beer trademarks, motorbike repair shops' signs carry logos for lubricating oil - and grocery shop signs often carry pictures of soft drinks.

Shop owners claim that they do not understand clearly which signs obey the regulations.

Owner of a chicken-soup shop in Tan Phu District said that if he only put the word "Chicken soup" on his sign, many people would not see it.

The customers were only attracted by the image of chicken, and they would be immediately understand that the shop sold food with chicken, he said.

"If the authorities do not agree to an image of a chicken, I will hang a real chicken in front of my shop," he said.

Nguyen Quy Cap, deputy chairman of the HCM City Advertisement Association, told the Thoi bao Kinh doanh (Business Times) that authorities should give the new ruling more consideration because it could make it difficult for people to do business.

He said the new instruction did not say if enterprises could put advertisements by the side of their shops.

Cap added that the association would propose some petitions to the municipal People's Committee and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism seeking guidance in implementing the rules.

An expert on advertising in the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the department conducted the instruction based on the Law on Advertisements issued in 2012.

An explanatory document going together with the law had clear regulations on the sizes and contents of shop signs, he said.

These said that shop signs must not carry extra advertising.

VNS/VNN