When consumers see "buy one, get one free", they expect a "car as a gift", while the company gives a "car model". This gap cannot be eliminated with a line of fine print.
A few days ago, the official account of SAIC Audi posted an article to congratulate an athlete for winning the championship. The title read "Buy one, get one free for all AUDI series." When consumers clicked on it, they found that the so-called "buy one, get one free" meant that the gift was a car model; the "whole series" in the title was also limited to two of its models. Subsequently, the account has made many modifications to the tweet. On November 3, the Shanghai Jiading District Market Supervision Bureau responded that it had opened a case against the respondent, Shanghai SAIC Volkswagen Sales Co., Ltd., based on the relevant reports, and has now officially intervened in the investigation (according to China Youth Daily on November 4).
The conclusion of the individual case needs to be investigated. However, routines like "make the offer big and the conditions small" are not uncommon. Words such as "free", "all-in-one" and "gift" are placed in prominent places, but key information such as scope of application and participation thresholds can only be clarified by reading the details, clicking on links or even consulting customer service.
The promotion comes with conditions, which is not a problem in itself. The value of the gift can be lower than the main product, and the discount can be limited to some products, but the premise is that the true situation must be clearly seen before consumers make a decision.
The Advertising Law clearly stipulates that if the advertisement indicates that the goods or services promoted are accompanied by gifts, the variety, specification, quantity, duration and method of the goods or services attached shall be clearly stated. The "Regulations on Clearly Marked Prices and Prohibition of Price Fraud" also require that when operators give away goods or services, they should indicate the name and quantity of the gift.
The word used in laws and regulations is "express", which does not mean that it is written down but must be visible to consumers. Promotional design can be sophisticated and marketing methods can be innovative, but they cannot be misunderstood.
To judge whether an advertisement is misleading does not depend on whether the company can explain it afterwards, but on whether consumers can understand it when browsing and before making a decision. Especially in online communication, titles and posters may be viewed and forwarded separately, and the fine print hidden on the details page may not be visible. Merchants cannot use literal meaning when soliciting customers and use another set of words when explaining. To protect the right to know, we must give consumers the opportunity to say "no" at the beginning, instead of being attracted first and then struggling to discern the truth.
If this "lead traffic first, explain later" approach is not restrained, it will not only be damaged by consumers, but also the competitive order. For the same offer, if the threshold is clearly stated, it is not attractive enough, but if the conditions are hidden, it is easier to win attention. The competition may shift from who can offer more benefits to who can hide the conditions better. Over time, consumers will become increasingly distrustful of promotional promises, and truly sincere merchants will also be implicated.
Timely intervention of supervision is to cut off the routine of "relying on misunderstanding to exchange traffic". In March 2026, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice to specifically rectify "misleading large and small print" advertisements, clarifying that if words or voices that are difficult to be clearly recognized by consumers are used to express transaction conditions that are unfavorable to consumers, the content of the advertisement can be deemed to be unclear or incomprehensible; if the circumstances are serious and may cause consumers to misjudge key information, it can be deemed to be false advertising. For confirmed illegal activities, regulatory authorities should deal with them seriously in accordance with the law, use sufficient and effective punishment methods, and make the punishment sufficient to act as a deterrent.
Standardizing promotions is not about setting a unified template for marketing, but rather preventing operators from gaining competitive advantage by creating misunderstandings. If an offer is attractive only if the conditions are hidden, then the offer itself should be worked on, not the tricks used to mislead consumers.
