GALA Gazette: New Regulation on Advertising Placed on Ground Vehicles

AMERICAS: VENEZUELA

New Regulation on Advertising Placed on Ground Vehicles
Author: Ricardo Enrique Antequera, Estudio Antequera Parilli & Rodríguez

It is not a secret that entrepreneurs are constantly looking for advertising at a lower cost without affecting the number of consumer reached with their message and its content. Also, regular people are always “eager” for an extra income to complete their monthly budget.

That might be the reasons why for a while now, in every Venezuelan major city not only certain public transportation vehicles but also an increasing number of private cars are usually “wearing” advertising over their doors, back sides or even on their spare tires.

Only municipal regulations have been dealing with this way of advertising. The Municipality of the city of Maracaibo has included the advertising through vehicles on their regulation for taxing purposes. A similar case applies in the municipalities of Libertador and Baruta from the city of Caracas.

However, last August the Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Infraestructura (Ministry of Infrastructure) issued a new resolution under No. 046 for advertising placed on vehicles circulating within the national road network.

The resolution No. 046 defines “advertisement” as every drawing, notice, symbol, object, sign or emblem whatever its sizes are, material or technical features, intended to inform, warn or promote activities, places, commercial, industrial, cultural, social, political, official or professional goods or services, and that it its use is to attract the attention of consumers, purchasers, beneficiaries and users in a direct or indirect way.

In order to be able to place advertisements on vehicles, it is required to apply for authorization by the “Instituto de Transito y Transporte Terrestre” (National Transit and Ground Transportation Insitute INTT). The authorization will last one year from the date of issuance.

In order to issue the authorization, the INTT should verify whether the proposed advertisement complies with the resolution No. 046. Among other regulated requisites are:

Any sign should not be likely similar to official transit indications neither have reflecting surfaces, televising screens or other movement means;
Signs should comply with surface measures established on each case by types of vehicles: taxis, buses or private cars;
Any type of advertisement shall not obstruct basic operational or safety features of vehicles such as directional, parking, night or breaks lights, or the license plate.

The INTT will be in charge of posting, installing, placing, maintenance, location, characteristics, requirements and removal of advertisement on vehicles circulating within the national road network as well as coordination, supervision and evaluation of granted authorizations.

The resolution No. 046 grants a year period from August 20, 2007 in order to adapt all the advertisement already placed on vehicles to the new provisions.

The official spokesman has stated that the regulation is intended to establish standards since the national roads have become a sort of gigantic advertising mean, creating “visual pollution” and distracting drivers.

In regards to the advertisers, at the time they may agree that certain standards are required; there is certain concern about the uniformity when applying the new regulation, since the government agencies have become a large advertiser on vehicles and there doubts whether such standards will be also enforced against them.

What seems unquestionable is that every measure taken that is considering the collective interests, such as, safety of the drivers on the roads should be supported. However, the new regulation should be not only uniformly applied but also in a timely fashion form in order to avoid obstructing the advertising activity that usually depends on how effective and quick the message is sent to consumers.