New Motor Vehicle Advertising Guidelines Published by Ohio Attorney General

The Ohio Attorney General's Office has published updated Guidelines for Motor Vehicle Advertising, which provide an easy to understand explanation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act prohibitions related to the advertisement and sale of a motor vehicle.  The Guidelines cover topics such as advertising limited rebates, internet, radio, and television advertising, giveaways, prizes and other free offers, as well as many others.  Please ensure all appropriate dealership staff take the time to familiarize themselves with the Guidelines and sample advertisements included therein. 

The Revised Guidelines also include a list of items which may trigger an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General.  Those items include:

• Obviously deceptive or unfair advertisements;
• Consumer complaints related to advertising;
• Unreadable print;
• Disclaimers that contradict an advertisement's message;
• Violations related to financing and payments;
• Use of terms such as "liquidate", "repossessed", "specially selected" and "pennies on the dollar", among others;
• References to the government or use of a seal;
• Prize notifications, including free products or instant savings scratch-offs;
• Advertisements or direct mail solicitations that include checks;
• Minimum or specific amounts for trade-ins;
• MSRP used either directly or indirectly in a used vehicle advertisement

Click HERE for a copy of the guidelines or visit the Ohio Attorney General's website at Guidelines for Motor Vehicle Advertising.  GCADA will be hosting a webinar to discuss dealer advertising and the guidelines.  The date of this webinar will be announced in the near future.

As a reminder, under the LAS (Legal Advisory Services) Program all GCADA member dealers receive two free advertising review compliance proofs annually.  Thereafter, all advertising review proofs will cost $25.

If you no longer wish to receive email advertisements from GCADA, please call 440-746-1500, send a fax to 440-746-1504, or send an email to gcada@gcada.org and provide the following information so we can process your request: your name, the name of your company (if applicable), your email address(es), and that you do not wish to receive email advertisements from GCADA. We must process your request within 10 days. GCADA is located at 10100 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, Ohio 44141.