Advertising in South Africa: the ARB Code, the Consumer Protection Act, POPIA and how to choose a marketing company
Who regulates advertising in South Africa, the rules every ad, SMS, influencer post and billboard has to meet, and how to check an advertising or marketing agency, built on the ARB Code, the Consumer Protection Act 2008, POPIA and city by-laws, read on 22 October 2026.
Published by AI Knows Us · Updated 22 October 2026
Advertising in South Africa is governed in two layers. The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB), an industry body, rules on the content of ads under the Code of Advertising Practice. Under it sit the laws: the Consumer Protection Act 2008 bans misleading marketing and gives people the right to block direct marketing, POPIA controls marketing by SMS, email and phone, and each city's by-law decides where signs and billboards may go. A good advertising or marketing company in South Africa works inside all of them, and you can check that before you sign.
Who regulates advertising in South Africa
The ARB describes itself as South Africa's official self-regulation body that adjudicates complaints about the content of advertising. It was launched after the Advertising Standards Authority was ordered to close at the end of September 2018 (ARB FAQs). Its Code is based on the International Chamber of Commerce's International Code of Advertising Practice, adapted for South Africa. Its founding members are the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), IAB South Africa and the Marketing Association of South Africa, and other members include the National Association of Broadcasters.
Membership matters. The ARB's FAQ says it is a membership based body: a non-member does not have to accept its rulings, but broadcasters are bound through the Electronic Communications Act, and other media may be members or treat its decisions as binding. In practice, an ad ruled against can lose its airtime and its media space.
The ARB accepts complaints about the content of advertising in any paid form, and it lists billboards, direct mail, magazines and newspapers, packaging, posters, radio, social media, television and websites. A consumer complains free. A competitor with a business interest pays to lodge a complaint (ARB, lodge a complaint).
The Code of Advertising Practice: rules every ad must meet
The Code is published in sections and appendices, with the current sections dated 7 April 2026. Section II, the general principles, holds the rules most campaigns meet:
- Substantiation (clause 4.1). Before an ad is published, the advertiser must hold documentary evidence for every claim, direct or implied, that can be objectively checked. Survey evidence must come from a SAMRA accredited researcher or an entity the Southern African Marketing Research Association accepts.
- "Free" (clause 4.4). A product is not free if the consumer pays anything beyond delivery or postage, and those costs must be stated.
- Comparisons (clause 7.1). Comparative ads are allowed if they use only facts capable of substantiation and respect the Trade Marks Act.
- Ads must look like ads (clause 12). Ads in editorial media must be readily recognised as advertising. Clause 12.5 says paid ranking on a search results page is advertising and must carry a label such as "Sponsored", "Promoted" or "Ad".
Sectors with their own rules have appendices, including alcohol, gambling, food and beverage, cosmetics, environmental claims, vaping and social media. A brief in any of those sectors should name the appendix that applies.
Influencer and social media advertising
Appendix K, the Social Media Code, applies the full Code to brands, publishers and influencers. Where paid content could look like an influencer's own opinion, it must carry a clear identifier, and the Code names "#AD", "#Advertisement" and "#Sponsored". Influencers must declare goods or services received in return for coverage. Marketers must have a written contract with paid influencers that sets out the brief, the payment, the duty to publish their own content or credit the creator, and the disclosures their industry requires.
The Consumer Protection Act 2008
These sections of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 shape everyday advertising:
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| 11 | A person may refuse, stop or pre-emptively block direct marketing. The National Consumer Commission may establish or recognise a registry for pre-emptive blocks, and marketers must honour demands and blocks, free of charge to the consumer. |
| 16 | A consumer may cancel a transaction that resulted from direct marketing, without reason or penalty, within five business days after the later of the deal or delivery. |
| 29 | Goods and services may not be marketed in a misleading, fraudulent or deceptive way, including on price, previous price or a competitor's price. |
| 30 | Bait marketing: an advertised price must be genuinely available, within any limits the ad states. |
| 31 | Negative option marketing, where an agreement exists unless the consumer declines, is banned, and such agreements are void. |
| 41 | False, misleading or deceptive representations are prohibited. |
Section 36 deals with promotional competitions, so a competition run through an ad or a social page needs its own check against that section before launch.
POPIA and direct marketing by SMS, email and phone
Section 69 of the Protection of Personal Information Act prohibits direct marketing by electronic communication, including SMS and email, unless the person has consented or is an existing customer being offered your own similar products, with a chance to object each time (POPIA). Every message must identify the sender and give an address for opting out.
The Information Regulator's guidance note on direct marketing treats telephone calls as electronic communication, lists push notifications, Instagram and LinkedIn direct messages and cookies among the channels covered, and says consent may be requested only once, with Form 4 or a substantially similar form. It also says the absence of a pre-emptive block under the CPA is not permission: consent under section 69 is still required.
Outdoor advertising and billboards
Where a sign may stand is a city matter. Cape Town's Outdoor Advertising By-law, 2023 requires approval for advertising signs and bans walking sandwich boards, hand held signs and commercial signs on drones. Johannesburg's 2017 by-law requires the City's prior written approval for any advertising sign. The City of Tshwane requires its written consent before any sign is erected, including on private property. Our city guides cover each: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. Our guide to billboard advertising companies explains who actually sells a site.
Online advertising: where the audience is
Stats SA's Census 2022 counted 62 million people, with about 56 percent in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. For search, StatCounter puts Google at 91.75 percent of South African search engine use in September 2026 and Bing at 7.36 percent (StatCounter). Google's tax page says all Google Ads accounts in South Africa are subject to VAT at the current South African rate (Google Ads help), so budget for VAT on top of media.
How to choose an advertising or marketing company in South Africa
"Marketing companies" covers very different firms: full service agencies, media buyers, digital agencies, field marketing companies that put people in stores, and brand consultancies. Decide which job you have first. Then check each firm:
- Is it inside the ARB system? The ARB says membership works through its member bodies; for agencies the ACA is the most likely, or possibly the IAB. It can confirm membership by letter for tenders.
- Who owns the accounts? Ad accounts, social pages and data should be in your name.
- How is it paid? A retainer, a project fee, a percentage of media, or a mix. Compare quotes on hours, named people and exclusions.
- Is it a registered company? Search the CIPC registry.
"Top 10 marketing agencies in South Africa" lists are often paid placements. Our guide to how agency directories order their lists explains what decides the order. For search work specifically, see our guide to SEO and digital marketing companies in South Africa.
Questions about advertising in South Africa
Is the ARB a government regulator?
No. It is an industry self-regulation body. Its rulings bind members and broadcasters, and the laws on misleading marketing and direct marketing apply to everyone regardless.
Do influencer posts in South Africa need #ad?
Where paid content could pass as the influencer's own opinion, yes. The Social Media Code names #AD, #Advertisement and #Sponsored, and gifts must be declared.
Can we send marketing SMSes to a bought list?
No. POPIA section 69 requires consent or an existing customer relationship, and the Information Regulator says consent may be requested only once.
Who approves a billboard?
The municipality where it stands, under its outdoor advertising by-law, on top of any landowner's permission.
What makes an advertising claim safe to publish?
Evidence held before publication. The Code requires documentary evidence for every objectively checkable claim, and current, relevant survey data where surveys are used.
When the shortlist comes from an AI assistant
Brand managers now ask ChatGPT and Gemini which agencies to brief, and their customers ask the same assistants which product to buy. In both cases the answer is a short list of names, assembled from the pages the assistant can read, and a strong campaign does not by itself earn a place in it. That is a different discipline from advertising: being named correctly in AI answers. AI Knows Us works in that new category, measuring whether the main AI apps name a business when its buyers ask and which sources they rely on.