Advertising Guidelines

Massive Publishing is committed to the highest standards in advertising within its publications.  To this end we fully subscribe to the code of practice set out by the Advertising Standards Authority and Commitee of Advertising Practice (non broadcast).

All of our advertisers must abide by the following principles:

• All marketing communications should be legal, decent, honest and truthful.
• All marketing communications should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
• All marketing communications should respect the principles of fair competition generally accepted in business.
• No marketing communication should bring advertising into disrepute.
• Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation.
• Relevant evidence should be sent without delay if requested by Massive Publishing.  The adequacy of evidence will be judged on whether it supports both the detailed claims and the overall impression created by the marketing communication.
• If there is a significant division of informed opinion about any claims made in a marketing communication they should not be portrayed as generally agreed.
• Obvious untruths or exaggerations that are unlikely to mislead and incidental minor errors and unorthodox spellings are all allowed provided they do not affect the accuracy or perception of the marketing communication in any material way.
• Marketers have primary responsibility for ensuring that their marketing communications are legal. Marketing communications should comply with the law and should not incite anyone to break it.
• Marketers should not state or imply that a product can legally be sold if it cannot.
• Marketers should not present rights given to consumers in law as a distinctive feature of their offer.
• Marketing communications should contain nothing that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care should be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability. Compliance with this code will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards of decency.
• Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily conflicting with the above. Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.
• The fact that a particular product is offensive to some people is not sufficient grounds for objecting to a marketing communication for it.
• Marketers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers.
• No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise.

Advertorials / Advertisement Features

Advertisers are politely requested not to submit advertorials and advertisement features without express prior permission from the publisher.  An advertorial or advertisement feature is any advert that is deamed by the Group Editor to contain a significantly large amount of textual information, particularly when it is presented in a way to reflect the visual style of the publication and, in so doing, draw on its credibility.  We strongly advise all advertisers to contact Massive Publishing if in any doubt about any proposed advertising feature.

Grow Gear Product Inserts

The ‘Grow Gear’ section of Urban Garden Magazine (UK / USA / Canada) is intended to showcase new and substantially improved products.  As space is limited, if the publisher receives more product inserts than it can accommodate, priority will be given to the newest products.  Additionally, if the publisher receives information about the same product from multiple advertisers (eg. a manufacturer and a distributor) only one instance of the product insert will be printed – the choice of which will be at the Group Editor’s discretion.

Retail Stores

Massive Publishing politely requests all advertisers to refrain from mentioning specific retail stores in their marketing communications.