Advertising Policy
The Soothe is funded privately and through the sale of advertising that appears across various platforms, which include the websites, social media and other likeminded brands. We never allow sponsors to influence The Soothe’s editorial content. In some cases, The Soothe may create co-branded or branded content in partnership with our sponsors, and/or present content created by our sponsors. This content is clearly labelled.
These guidelines are not intended as legal advice. These guidelines are a general statement of The Soothe’s advertising standards and are not intended to be comprehensive. Adherence to these guidelines (a) does not guarantee acceptance of advertising content for insertion across The Soothe properties, (b) does not mean compliance with laws and regulations. The Soothe encourages each advertiser and its agency to consult with its legal advisors to ensure compliance with all laws and regulations applicable to their advertisements before seeking to advertise on The Soothe.
Here are guidelines we follow about the types of advertising we accept:
1. The ads are checked by us.
We maintain sole discretion for determining the types of ads that will be accepted and displayed across The Soothe platforms. We reserve the right to reject, cancel, or remove any ads at any time and for any reason. We will provide prompt notice to the advertiser upon rejection, cancellation, or removal of any ad, along with an explanation. We also reserve the right to determine the appropriate placement of ads on The Soothe platforms. The Soothe has the right to change these guidelines on The Soothe properties at any time without notice.
2. We reject the endorsement of advertised products or services.
Under no circumstances shall our acceptance of any ad be considered an endorsement of the product(s) and/or service(s) advertised, or for the company that manufactures, distributes, or promotes these product(s) or service(s). In some cases, The Soothe’s editorial team may rate or rank products or services. These ratings or rankings are determined solely by the editorial team(s) without regard to any financial or advertising relationship that may exist with companies that provide the product or services.
3. Not all ads are created equal.
We will not accept any ad that is factually inaccurate and/or, in our opinion, in poor taste. The Soothe will not permit, at any time, the placement of any ad seen to: be illegal, indecent, misleading, deceptive, false or untrue; promote or glorify violence, crime, obscenity, the use of weapons or provide instructions on how to “get away” with crimes or unlawful activity; stereotype, inaccurately portray or attack an individual or group on the basis of age, colour, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or handicap or which may raise discontent or disaffection amongst local citizens and residents, or promote feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the local population; be offensive, or disturbing to The Soothe’s users, or which is likely to cause outrage, general disapproval, or negative opinion within the community; portray minors (or persons who, in The Soothe’s opinion, appear to be underage) in a manner that is sexually suggestive or otherwise age-inappropriate; infringe the intellectual property, right of publicity or any related rights of The Soothe Online or any third parties; promote The Soothe competitors; or promote products, services or activities contrary to The Soothe’s competitive position or interests. Contests, Sweepstakes, Lotteries & Games of Chance Advertisements concerning lotteries, except for the lawful advertising by Singapore Pools, are prohibited.
Health supplements will not be advertised or promoted for any specific medicinal purposes. Products containing banned ingredients in Singapore are not permitted.
Advertisements for food products must comply with applicable laws and regulations regarding definitions/restrictions on food-related descriptive words.
Over The Counter (‘OTC’) Medications advertisements must be for products approved by the relevant regulatory agencies such as the Health Sciences Authority, and only for approved purposes (i.e. no advertising for ‘off label’ uses of an OTC product).
4. Ads and editorial content are clearly labelled.
The Soothe maintains a distinct separation between commercial and editorial content. All ads across The Soothe are clearly identified and sponsored resources are labelled as such, with the name of the sponsor displayed.
5. Sponsored and non-sponsored content is clearly distinguished.
Sponsorships provide financial benefit to The Soothe, but also benefit our users by providing current information on health services, medications, and treatments. Editorial content sponsored by an advertiser is subject to our editorial policy and is reviewed by our team. When content is provided by or influenced by a named sponsor, we ensure our users will not confuse that sponsored content with The Soothe’s original editorial content.
6. The advertiser has serious responsibilities.
It is the advertiser’s responsibility to ensure that: all advertisements it seeks to place on The Soothe properties comply with all the guidelines, applicable laws, regulations and codes of practice; and all claims, warranties, guarantees, or other assurances comply with applicable laws and regulations.
The sponsor of any advertising message appearing on The Soothe properties must not violate the intellectual property rights of third parties and all descriptions, claims and comparisons made in an advertisement can be substantiated, users are not deceived into providing personal information without the user’s knowledge, under false pretences, or to companies who trade, barter, resell or otherwise misuse that personal information; and users are not misled or deceived into downloading software, malware/spyware, and/or applications.
7. We will only play fair.
All promotions must offer a fair opportunity for all entrants to win and comply with applicable laws. Promotions cannot claim ‘everyone wins’ or suggest that the reader was specially selected to receive a prize. Promotions cannot suggest that a payment by the winner is necessary to claim a prize (except for applicable taxes). Promotions may not offer additional entries, prizes, bonus points, cash or other incentives to users in exchange for the user forwarding messages to friends and acquaintances.
Advertisements may not falsely imply that the mere act of clicking a button is sufficient to win. Advertisements offering ‘free’ items must disclose all material terms and conditions for obtaining the free item; in particular, advertisements which claim to offer ‘free gifts’ which in fact require the user to sign up for one or more offers, trial subscriptions, etc., must disclose how many offers the user must complete before receiving the gift.
8. The Soothe won’t go there when it comes to advertising the following products/services:
Drugs/Drug Paraphernalia, online casinos, gambling portals, gambling educational sites, degrees for sale or offered by non-accredited universities or programmes, firearms, loan products which requires upfront fees, products/services that claim to repair bad credit, securities (stocks, bonds, notes, warrants, options, etc), insider tips on a particular stock or commodity, products containing ephedra, ma huang, chitosan, human growth hormone, comfrey, or pyruvate, or another products/ elements/ ingredients as may be designated by The Soothe at any time in its sole discretion.