Consumer Protection's goal is to influence the marketplace to become fairer, more competitive and better informed. All advertising should tell the truth about a product or service and allow consumers to make well-informed decisions.

The legal principles explained here apply to advertising in all media – print, radio, television and outdoor. However, the examples here relate mainly to the print media.

When preparing advertising it is important to keep the target audience in mind. Courts have concluded advertisers should know readers (as well as listeners or viewers) will include the shrewd and the gullible, the educated and uneducated - all with varying degrees of experience in commercial transactions.

Prospective buyers should not have to "read between the lines". This means leaving out relevant facts can be just as misleading or deceptive as including inaccurate or incorrect information. Accordingly, an advertisement may be considered misleading even though it may not deceive more wary readers.