Advertiser Guidelines

PROHIBITED CONTENT & RESTRICTIONS ON CONTENT

1. Advance Fee Advertisement

• All ‘advance-fee type’ advertising or Advertisement requiring the End-User to make an upfront payment before any services are rendered or goods provided is prohibited.

2. Illegal products or services

• Ads must not constitute, facilitate, or promote illegal products, services or activities. Ads targeted to minors must not promote products, services or content that are inappropriate, illegal or unsafe, or that exploit, mislead or exert undue pressure on the age groups targeted.

3. Discriminatory practices

• Ads must not discriminate or encourage discrimination against people based on personal attributes such as race, ethnicity, colour, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, disability, medical or genetic condition.

4. Self-Employment Opportunities:

• Advertisements for self-employment opportunities may not be phrased in a manner which is likely to lead to the opportunity being confused with part-time or fixed employment. Such advertisements may not require any money to be sent before full information about the self-employment opportunity is supplied to the End-User.

5. Smoking / Vaping/ Inhaling and related products

• Advertisements for or about smoking or vaping or inhaling cigarettes, drugs or similar substance should not be advertised. Where the laws in a particular country allow for the advertising of smoking/vaping or inhaling, the Advertisements should be intended to audiences above the age of majority of 18 years old. The Advertisements should not:

• stimulate / encourage people to smoke;

• describe / suggest that smoking provides health benefits;

6. Unsafe substances AND Prohibited Drugs

• Advertisements that promote or provide information about the use of prohibited drugs or other unsafe substances (according to local law), as well as products associated with such use or abuse are prohibited.

• Ads must not promote the sale or use of illicit or recreational drugs, or other unsafe substances, products, or supplements, as determined by MTN / MTN More in its sole discretion.

7. Weapons, ammunition, or explosives

• Ads must not promote the sale or use of weapons, ammunition, or explosives. This includes ads for weapon modification accessories.

8. Adult products or services

• Ads must not promote the sale or use of adult products or services. Ads promoting sexual and reproductive health products or services, such as contraception and family planning, must be targeted to people aged 18 and older, and must not focus on sexual pleasure.

9. Adult Content

• Ads that display full or partial nudity in a sexual context, but not sexual activity; erotica; sexual things; sex-oriented businesses as clubs, nightclubs, escort services; and sites supporting the online purchase of such goods and services. Also includes depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative. These ads are prohibited.

10. Nudity

• Ads that offer depictions of nude or semi-nude human forms, singly or in groups are prohibited.

11. Sex:

• These are prohibited:

• Advertisements that depict or graphically describe sexual acts or activity, including exhibitionism, sale or business of sexual activity; erotica; sexual things; sex-oriented businesses as clubs, nightclubs, escort services; child pornography or the portrayal of children in sexual activity of any nature; adult products, such as pornography, sexually explicit products, toys and entertainment, products claiming to enhance sex, and other products and services of similar nature; also, Advertisements offering direct links to such sites.

• Advertisements with content which may be perceived as displaying sensuality and content that is not in accordance with social norms.

• Ads with content which may be perceived as displaying sensuality and content that is not in accordance with social norms.

12. Third-party infringement

• Ads must not contain content that infringes upon or violates the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary rights.

• Advertisements should not portray or refer to any living person(s) by whatever means unless their expressed prior written consent has been obtained. This excludes among others:

• Individuals that are shown in a crowd or background, provided (i) that the portrayal is not offensive; and (ii) this practice is permissible in terms of the Data Protection Laws in a particular market where the Advertisement will be consumed or accessed by End-Users.

• Portrayal of individuals who form part of the subject matter on advertisements for books, films, radio or television programs, press features, etc.

• Notwithstanding the above, guidance of privacy requirements must align with local data privacy and protection legislation and MTN’s data privacy and protection policies, procedures and practices and prevailing social standards.

13. Trust:

• An advertisement shall be framed so as not to abuse the trust of consumers or exploit their lack of experience or literacy level, always ensuring compliance with product-related and/or sector specific codes of conduct, standards, laws and regulations. Relevant factors likely to affect the decisions of consumers shall be communicated in such a way and at such times that consumers can take them into account.

14. Legality:

• Advertisements must not contain anything which might lead or lend support to criminal, anti-social or illegal activities, unethical, or appear to condone such activities.

• Advertisements should not show anything, which may encourage or incite support for criminal or illegal activity as defined within local and/or international law.

15. Offensive Advertising:

• Advertisements should not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread or sectoral offence in each market it would be consumed in or accessed by End-Users. In considering whether an advertisement is offensive, the context, medium, likely audience, nature of the product or service, prevailing standards, degree of social concern (including local religious sensitivities) and public interest must be considered.

16. Non-Availability of Advertised products:

• Advertisements should not be published unless the advertiser has reasonable grounds for believing that any demand that is likely to be created by advertising can be met.

17. Militancy and Extremist

• Ads that offer information about or promote or are sponsored by groups advocating anti-government are prohibited.

18. Gay or Lesbian or Bisexual Interest

• Ads that provide information about or cater to gay, lesbian, or bisexual lifestyles, but excluding those that are sexually or issue-oriented are prohibited.

19. Violence

• Ads that feature or promote violence or bodily harm, including self-inflicted harm; or that unreasonably display images of death, gore, or injury; or that feature images or descriptions that are frightening and of no redeeming value are prohibited.

20. Hostility between Nations

• Ads that can lead to hostility between countries, such as currency pictures torn/cut/wrinkled, torn flag image or other similar manners are prohibited.

21. Massage Parlors, Discotheque, Karaoke, Party Line

• Any ads related to Massage Parlors, Discotheque, Karaoke, Party Line and their jobs vacancies are prohibited.

22. Investment non-financial institutions

• Any ads for either seeking or providing funds / capital, except for financial institutions or the publicly institutions (listed on the Stock Exchange).

• Ads investment products that offer business opportunities, the promise of return of capital, lending and borrowing or profit sharing, must clearly and fully state the nature and form of bidding in a balanced and mentions the possible risks faced by the public if they become the investors.

• Ads that offer capital accumulation should clearly state that capital accumulation is only done through the capital market.

23. Animals:

• No advertisement may contain anything that might reasonably be thought to encourage or condone cruelty or irresponsible behavior towards animals.

• All animals featured in an advertisement should be well looked after and must not be harmed or distressed in the creation of the Advertisement. MTN recommends seeking the support of a veterinarian or other relevant expert to ensure that they are properly treated and cared for throughout production.

24. Fear:

• Advertisements should not use fear tactics without justifiable and lawful reason.

25. Mystical content

• Any ads related to mystic are prohibited.

26. Competitor

• Advertisements that feature, offer information about, and/or promote product of MTN’s competitors, where such competitor is also a holder of a telecommunications license.

• Companies with similar products e.g., internet service providers, content businesses, financial services etc but not operating (trading) with a telecommunications license will be allowed to use MTN Advertising.

• MTN ad operations team should approve Advert before publishing.

27. Racism and Hate

• Ads that promote the identification of racial – ethnical – religion – inter-group, the unfair criticism or subjection of groups, or the superiority of any group are prohibited.

28. Sensational content or Misinformation

• Ads must not contain shocking, sensational, or excessively violent content.

• We prohibit ads that include content debunked by third-party fact-checkers. Advertisers that repeatedly post information deemed to be false may have restrictions placed on their ability to advertise.

29. Non-functional landing page

• Ads must not direct people to non-functional landing pages. This includes landing page content that interferes with a person's ability to navigate away from the page.

30. Cheating and deceitful practices

• Ads may not promote products or services that are designed to enable a user to engage in cheating or deceitful practices.

31. Grammar and profanity

• Ads must not contain profanity or bad grammar and punctuation. Symbols, numbers and letters must be used properly without the intention of circumventing our ad review process or other enforcement systems.

32. Non-existent functionality

• Ads must not contain images that portray non-existent functionality. This includes imagery that replicates play buttons, notifications, or checkboxes, as well as ads containing features that do not work, such as multiple-choice options in the ad creative itself.

33. Multilevel marketing

• Ads promoting income opportunities must fully describe the associated product or business model and must not promote business models offering quick compensation for little investment, including multi-level marketing opportunities.

34. Penny auctions

• Ads may not promote penny auctions, bidding fee auctions or other similar business models.

35. Misleading claims / Unacceptable business practices

• Advertisements should not contain any statements or visual presentations, which directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity, or exaggeration is likely to mislead End-Users. Advertising must not take advantage of the good faith of our End-Users.

• Ads must not contain deceptive, false, or misleading claims, such as those relating to the effectiveness or characteristics of a product or service, including misleading health, employment or weight-loss claims that set unrealistic expectations for users.

• Ads must not promote products, services, schemes, or offers using deceptive or misleading practices, including those meant to scam people out of money or personal information.

36. Low-quality or disruptive content

• Ads must not contain content leading to external landing pages that provide an unexpected or disruptive experience. This includes misleading ad positioning, such as overly sensationalised headlines or prompts for users to inauthentically interact with the ad, and leading people to landing pages that contain minimal original content and a majority of unrelated or low-quality ad content.

37. Spyware or malware

• Ads must not contain spyware, malware or any software that results in an unexpected or deceptive experience. This includes links to sites containing these products.

38. Circumventing systems

• Ads must not use tactics intended to circumvent our ad review process or other enforcement systems. This includes techniques that attempt to disguise the ad's content or destination page.

39. Prohibited financial products and services.

• Ads must not promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices.

40. Sale of body parts

• Ads must not promote the sale of human body parts or fluids.

41. Vaccine discouragement

• Ads must not discourage people from vaccination or advocate against vaccines.

42. Inflammatory content

• Ads must not contain claims that a person or group of people are a threat to the physical safety, health, or survival of others based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, caste, sex, gender, gender identity, serious disease, disability or immigration status.

43. Safety:

• Advertisements should not without justifiable reason, show any dangerous practices or situations.

• Ads must not promote violent or dehumanising speech, statements of inferiority, or contempt or disgust based on protected characteristics or immigration status as outlined in our Community Standards.

44. Militancy social movements, Extremist, and violence-inducing conspiracy networks

• Ads must not contain praise, support or representation of individuals or groups with ties to violence.

• Advertisements that offer information about or promote or are sponsored by groups advocating anti-government., insurgency and terrorism.

45. Alcohol

• Advertisements that provide information about, promote, or support the sale of alcoholic beverages or associated products only to the extent to which this is not prohibited by applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines as well as social norms or concerns (including local religious sensitivities) and public interest in each jurisdiction as applicable to each MTN entity.

• Ads that promote or reference alcohol must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, licences, and approvals, and include age targeting criteria consistent with MTN / MTN More/MTN Media services’ targeting requirements and applicable local laws. Advertising must use all regulated trademarks and messaging for responsible service of alcohol, only target users above the age of 18, Post 1st click all, advertising must have an authenticated age gateway provided by the advertiser.

• Where the laws in a particular country allow for the advertising of alcoholic beverages or associated stuff, the Advertisements should be intended to audiences above the age of majority of 18 years old and should comply with local requirements regarding permitted times to advertise alcoholic beverages or associated stuff.

46. Dating

• Ads for dating services are only allowed with prior written permission. These must adhere to the dating targeting requirements and our dating ad guidelines. Details on the requirements for permission can be found here. To seek permission, please fill in this form to begin your application process.

47. Online gambling and gaming

• Ads that promote online gambling, and gaming where anything of monetary value (including cash or digital/virtual currencies, e.g., bitcoin) is required to play and anything of monetary value forms part of the prize, are only allowed with our prior written permission. This includes games where purchases are required to continue game play and/or provide advantage in winning prizes, in cases where the prize is of monetary value. Authorised advertisers must follow all applicable laws, including targeting their ads in accordance with legal requirements. At a minimum, ads may not be targeted to people under 18 years of age. Advertiser must provide company documents and licensing from Gaming Regulatory body in the territory before the campaign can go live.

48. Gambling and Sports Betting

• Advertisements that provide information about, promote, or support gambling or sports betting only to the extent to which this is not prohibited by applicable laws, regulations and guidelines as well as social norms or concerns (including local religious sensitivities) and public interest in each jurisdiction as applicable to each MTN entity are prohibited.

• Where the laws in a particular country allow for the advertising of gambling or sports betting, the Advertisements should be intended to audiences above the age of majority of 18 years old and should comply with local requirements regarding permitted times to advertise gambling or sports betting.

• See the ‘Sustainability/ESG considerations for Responsible Gambling extended beyond economic goals and regulatory compliance to include ethical conduct, social impact, human and children rights protection’ (available upon request from the Sustainability team, Corporate Affairs) for additional guidelines to consider and requirements to comply with.

49. Promotion of over the counter or pre-scription drugs

• Ads that promote over-the-counter medicines must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, licences and approvals, and include age targeting criteria consistent with applicable local laws.

50. Subscription services

• Adverts for subscription services or that promote products or services that include negative options, automatic renewal, free-to-pay conversion billing products or mobile marketing are subject to our subscription services requirements.

51. Free Offers:

• Advertisements should not describe products as "free” if there is any cost payable by a consumer except for delivery or postage costs. If there are any costs relating to delivery and postage, it must be stated clearly in the Advertisement in-country relevant advertising bodies requirements.

52. Financial and insurance products and services

• Advertisements for financial products or services should take special care to ensure that the public is fully aware of the nature of any commitment they may enter because of responding to the Advertisement. Advertisers should take note of the complexities of finance and should not be seen to take advantage of the lack of experience, knowledge or trust of End-Users.

• Ads promoting credit card applications or financial services with accredited institutions must clearly provide sufficient disclosure regarding associated fees, including APR percentages, transaction fees, interest rates and the physical address of the entity offering the product within the ad's landing page. Ads promoting credit cards, loans or insurance services must be targeted to people aged 18 or above. Ads promoting credit cards, loans or insurance services must not directly request the input of a person's financial information, including credit card information.

53. Branded content

• Ads promoting branded content must tag the featured third-party product, brand or business partner using the branded content tool. Branded content within ads is defined as a creator or publisher's content that features or is influenced by a business partner for an exchange of value.

54. Ads about social issues, elections, or politics

• Advertisers can run ads about social issues, elections or politics, provided that the advertiser complies with all applicable laws and the authorisation process required by MTN / MTN More/MTN Media. Where appropriate, MTN / MTN More/MTN Media may restrict issue, electoral or political ads. In addition, certain content related to elections may be prohibited in specific regions ahead of voting. All advertising requests in this category is subject to approval by MTN.

55. Political and Social Advocacy

• Advertisements that contain political content or which seek to promote a political view or a political party or which in any way could influence local politics or cause social division, especially during election periods, are prohibited.

56. Disclaimers for ads about social issues, elections, or politics

• In addition to complying with the Advertising Policies, the disclaimer that you submit for your ad about social issues, elections or politics may need to comply with the local guidelines and regulations.

57. Cryptocurrency products and services

• Ads may not promote cryptocurrency trading platforms, software and related services and products that enable monetisation, reselling, swapping, or staking of cryptocurrencies without prior written permission.

58. Cosmetic procedures and wellness

• Ads marketing weight loss products and services must be targeted to people aged 18 or older. Ads marketing cosmetic surgeries and procedures must be targeted to people aged 18 or older. Ads marketing dietary, health or herbal supplements must be targeted to people at least 18 years or older.

59. Social casino games

• Ads for social casino games, which are online games that simulate casino gambling (e.g. poker, slots, roulette etc.) where there is no opportunity to win money or money's worth, are only allowed if they are targeted to people 18 years or older.

60. Video ads

• Video ads and other dynamic ad types must comply with all of the rules listed in these Advertising Policies, as well as the policies below:

• Disruptive content

• Videos and other similar ad types must not use overly disruptive tactics, such as flashing screens.

• Entertainment-related restrictions

• Ads for film trailers, TV shows, video game trailers and other similar content intended for mature audiences are only allowed with prior written permission from MTN / MTN More and must target people who are 18 years or older. Excessive depictions of the following content within these ads are not allowed:

1. Drugs and alcohol use

2. Adult content

3. Profanity

4. Violence and gore

• Accuracy

• Ads must clearly represent the company, product, service or brand that is being advertised.

61. Related landing pages

• The products and services promoted in an ad's text must match those promoted on the landing page, and the destination site must not offer or link to any prohibited product or service.

62. Lead ads

• Advertisers must not create lead ads questions to request the following types of information without our prior written permission.

63. Account numbers

• Ads must not request account numbers, including frequent flyer numbers, loyalty card numbers, or cable or telephone account numbers without our prior permission.

64. Criminal history

• Ads must not request information regarding criminal or arrest history without our prior permission.

65. Financial information

• Ads must not request financial information, including bank account numbers, bank routing numbers, credit or debit card numbers, credit scores, income, net worth or how much debt someone has without our prior permission.

66. Governmental issued identifiers

• Ads must not request government-issued identifiers, including National Security numbers, passport numbers or driving licence numbers without our prior permission.

67. Health information

• Ads must not request health information, including physical health, mental health, medical treatments, medical conditions, or disabilities without our prior permission.

68. Insurance information

• Ads must not request insurance information, including current insurance policy numbers, without our prior permission.

69. Political affiliation

• Ads must not request information regarding political affiliation.

70. Race or ethnicity

• Ads must not request information regarding race or ethnicity without our prior permission.

71. Religion

• Ads must not request information regarding religion or philosophical beliefs without our prior permission.

72. Sexual orientation

• Ads must not request information regarding sexual orientation or information about the sexual life of the individual, including what gender(s) the person prefers to date, without our prior permission.

73. Trade union membership

• Ads must not request information regarding trade Union membership status without our prior permission.

74. Usernames or passwords

• Ads must not request usernames or passwords, including usernames and passwords for existing and new accounts, without our prior permission. If you want to direct people to sign up for an account with your site or service, you should use the Clicks to Website or Website Conversions objective when you run your ads.