Iran gets tough on foreign-language advertising

Middle East Online: Iranian traders were given a stern warning Wednesday to stop using only foreign languages in advertising, company logos or shop signs, an official in the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance said.
“There is a law dating back to 1996 that aims to preserve the Farsi language, ” … Middle East Online

TEHRAN – Iranian traders were given a stern warning Wednesday to stop using only foreign languages in advertising, company logos or shop signs, an official in the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance said.

“There is a law dating back to 1996 that aims to preserve the Farsi language, just like in other countries who want to preserve their languages,” the head of the advertising bureau of the ministry, Iraj Gharehdaghi, said.

“But recently there have been considerable violations of this law, so we have started confronting the problem.”

In a warning issued through official media, the ministry said violators risked receiving a written warning, temporary closure and even a ban on business activity.

The law – which applies to the press and printed adverts, television commercials, billboards and shop signs – stipulates that Farsi letters have to be more than double the size of other non-Farsi letters used.

Gharehdaghi said that so far, no businesses have been shut down, and he added that “business people have expressed their appreciation and welcomed the move.”

He added that the ministry was also seeking the compulsory Farsi-language labelling of imported goods.