The sponsorship contract is signed and the perimeter LED slots are booked. Then, on the day the creative is due, legal asks whether this product sector may be advertised at a stadium at all. It happens often. Some brands rebuild their creative the day before a match, others give up a slot they already paid for. This article collects the sectors banned from advertising under current Vietnamese law, the separate rules for alcohol in sport, and what the amended Advertising Law changes from 1 January 2026.
Eight groups banned under the Advertising Law
Article 7 of the Advertising Law 2012 (No. 16/2012/QH13) lists eight groups of goods, products and services banned from advertising. This is the base list and it applies to every advertising medium, not only stadiums.
| Clause | Group banned from advertising |
|---|---|
| 1 | Goods and services whose trade is prohibited by law |
| 2 | Tobacco |
| 3 | Liquor with alcohol content of 15 degrees or above |
| 4 | Breast-milk substitutes for children under 24 months, supplementary nutrition products for children under 6 months, feeding bottles and artificial teats |
| 5 | Prescription drugs, and non-prescription drugs that authorities advise limiting or using under medical supervision |
| 6 | Products and goods of a sexually stimulating nature |
| 7 | Hunting guns and ammunition, sporting weapons, and products of a violence-inciting nature |
| 8 | Other products, goods and services banned from advertising as the Government may specify in practice |
Brands in these groups rarely sign visibility deals in the first place. The harder cases sit next door: alcoholic drinks, health supplements, products for small children. Those are not banned outright, but they carry conditions.
Alcohol is not only about the degree
The Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol 2019 (No. 44/2019/QH14) sorts products by alcohol content, and one clause speaks directly to sport.
| Alcohol content | What it means for stadium advertising |
|---|---|
| 15 degrees and above | Advertising prohibited (Article 5.7) |
| Liquor from 5.5 to under 15 degrees, beer from 5.5 degrees up | May not be advertised in cultural, stage, cinema or sporting programmes and activities (Article 13.1); no outdoor advertising media except the trader's own signboard (Article 13.2) |
| Under 5.5 degrees | Advertising allowed under the conditions in Article 12: carry a warning, do not encourage drinking, do not target children, pupils, students or pregnant women, do not use people under 18 in the advert |
Article 13.1 is the clause brands most often miss. A match is a sporting activity, so beer at 5.5 degrees or above is not in the category that may be advertised there. Article 14 of the same law is also explicit: alcohol traders that provide sponsorship may not sponsor with alcohol products.
In practice many drinks brands appear at stadiums through a product under 5.5 degrees or an alcohol-free line. The difference lies in the product shown in the creative, not in the company name. Get the brand's legal team to confirm this in writing before the creative is built.
From 1 January 2026: duties for content conveyors
The amended Advertising Law was passed on 16 June 2025 and takes effect on 1 January 2026. Two points touch sports sponsorship directly.
First, advertising content must be truthful, clear and must not mislead, as required by Article 19. A line of text on perimeter LED is advertising content too, so claims about benefits, rankings or market share all need supporting documents.
Second, the law adds Article 15a on the conveyor of advertising products. Anyone who advertises directly by wearing, hanging, attaching, pasting, painting or otherwise using something for profit falls under it, not only people posting online. Influencers must additionally verify the advertiser's reliability, check the product documents and state clearly that the content is advertising, immediately before and during it. Where a package includes ambassador, player or celebrity activity at the stadium, write these duties into the contract.
Board positions also follow the competition regulations
Beyond the law there is a second layer: the competition's own rules. Notice No. 134/TB-BTC dated 2 July 2023 from the Organising Board of the national professional football competitions requires the parties to comply with the rules on sponsorship, advertising and communications, and to keep advertising boards in the positions set by the competition regulations and by VPF guidance and designs.
So a lawful piece of creative can still be refused if it sits in the wrong place, at the wrong size, or over a competition sponsor's rights. Regulations can change season to season, so work from the current season's document rather than last season's.
Reviewing creative before a match: the order of work
- Pin down exactly which product is being advertised, with its specification if it is an alcoholic drink.
- Check it against Article 7 of the Advertising Law and any sector-specific rules.
- Get the current season's competition regulations and the organiser's design guidance.
- Collect supporting documents for every claim that appears in the creative.
- Send the built version to the brand and the club for sign-off before match day.
- Keep the approved version on file, with who approved it and when.
Hoan Vu has worked in advertising since 2001 and became a joint stock company in 2010. It currently runs perimeter LED at four grounds, Hang Day, Lach Tray, Binh Phuoc and Pleiku, works with six clubs and around 84 matches a season. Each match has a technical crew on site, and after the match there is an acceptance record with photos and video. The review step above sits inside that process, described further on the stadium LED solutions page. File preparation and formats are covered separately in perimeter LED creative.
Frequently asked questions
Can a beer brand advertise on stadium perimeter LED?
Beer at 5.5 degrees or above may not be advertised in sporting activities, under Article 13.1 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol 2019. A product under 5.5 degrees may be advertised, provided it meets the conditions in Article 12 of that law.
Can a spirits company sponsor a football club?
Liquor at 15 degrees or above is on the list banned from advertising in Article 7 of the Advertising Law, and Article 14 of the 2019 alcohol law prohibits sponsoring with alcohol products. Any specific visibility arrangement should be put to the authorities before signing.
Can creative approved last season be reused?
Do not assume so. Competition regulations and design guidance can change between seasons, and the amended Advertising Law in force from 1 January 2026 adds requirements on supporting documents and on the duties of content conveyors.
Conclusion
The hard part of sports sponsorship is usually not the idea but whether the content can reach the screen. Checking the sector before the package is signed, then checking the creative before each match, is what keeps surprises out of the final day. Brands or clubs that want a sponsorship package reviewed against current rules can leave their details or call the hotline 0964 73 74 73.
Hoan Vu connects brands with clubs, builds packages and reports match by match.
