Ad Content Guidelines

Every ad must

• Tell the truth. Prices, discounts and claims must be accurate and ones you can back up.
• Put the terms on the coupon. Any offer needs an expiration date and its main limits (for example, “new customers only” or “one per household”).
• Use only what you have rights to. Logos, photos, fonts and trademarks must be yours or licensed.
• Include the license details your trade requires. Pennsylvania home improvement contractors must show their PA HIC registration number. Real estate agents must include the brokerage name. Other licensed trades follow their own board’s advertising rules.
• Follow fair housing law. Rental and real estate ads can’t state or imply a preference based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, or any other protected class.
• Show a working phone number, website or address.

We don’t accept ads for

• Marijuana, or any product illegal under federal law, since the card travels through the U.S. mail
• Tobacco, vaping or nicotine products
• Adult or sexual content
• Gambling, casinos or sports betting
• Payday loans, title loans or “guaranteed approval” credit offers
• Weapons, firearms or ammunition
• Political ads outside the rules below: third parties, PACs, ballot issues and issue ads
• Residential house cleaning, which is held by Fairy Clean Associates, the company that operates Fairy Route

Political ads

We accept political ads in two categories: Political (Democratic) and Political (Republican). Each works like any other category, so a card carries at most one Democratic ad and one Republican ad, first come, first served.

• The ad is for a candidate, or the party’s local committee, on the ballot in the card’s area.
• It must say who paid for it (“Paid for by…”), as Pennsylvania and federal election rules require.
• Stick to your candidate and your message. No attacks on a named opponent, and no claims you can’t back up.
• Nothing that could mislead people about voting: dates, places, who can vote, or how. Official election information comes from the county.
• No look-alikes of ballots, government notices, or official election mail.
• Political spots carry a surcharge on the regular price, shown at checkout. Running on the card isn’t an endorsement by Fairy Route.
• We may ask for changes, or decline an ad, if it doesn’t follow these rules.

Community events and local government

Townships, boroughs, libraries, parks and recreation, and other local public bodies can advertise events happening that month in the Community events & local government category. More than one can run on a card. The ad must be about the event or the public service, never a candidate or an election campaign.

Case-by-case

We review these individually and may ask for changes: alcohol (must follow Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board rules), CBD and supplements, health or medical claims, weight-loss offers, religious organizations, and multi-level marketing.

Not allowed in any ad

• Naming or criticizing another business
• Before-and-after claims or testimonials you can’t document
• Fake urgency, such as countdowns that reset or “last chance” offers that aren’t
• Text or images that look like a government notice, bill or official mail

Print specs for uploaded ads