WebMD Advertising & Promotions Policy

The following guidelines have been established by WebMD to govern various aspects of Advertising on the WebMD Network of Sites. For these purposes, "Advertising and Advertisements" include banners, badges, contextual Advertising, Sponsored Content, and Promotions. The guidelines in this policy govern issues like acceptance of Advertisements and Promotions by WebMD, how Advertisements and Promotions are displayed on the WebMD Site, and the removal of Advertisements and Promotions from the WebMD Site. While third party (sponsor influenced) content must adhere to our Advertising Policy, labeling of Sponsored Content is governed by Our Sponsor Policy. WebMD has sole and absolute discretion with respect to interpretation and enforcement of this policy and all other issues associated with Advertising on the WebMD Site. WebMD may change this policy at any time in its sole discretion by posting a revised policy to the WebMD Site.

WebMD has sole discretion for determining the types of Advertising that will be accepted and displayed on the WebMD Network, and under no circumstances will WebMD's acceptance of any Advertisement be considered an endorsement of the product(s) and/or service(s) advertised or for the company that manufactures, distributes, or promotes the products or services.
WebMD will not accept Advertising that, in WebMD's opinion, is not factually accurate and in good taste.
There are certain categories of advertisements that WebMD will not permit on the WebMD Network at any time. These categories include but are not limited to the following:

illegal or objectionable products
fraudulent, deceptive, illicit, misleading or offensive material
material that misrepresents, ridicules, discriminates (real or implied) or attacks an individual or group on the basis of age, national origin, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or any other status deemed inappropriate for the WebMD Network
alcohol
weapons, firearms, ammunition, or fireworks
gambling
pornography or related themes
tobacco use of any kind
the simulation of news or an emergency
material that directly advertises products to or is intended to attract children
media or messages for or that reference "M" rated video games or content
unreasonable, unlikely or extraordinary product or service claims
media messages or imagery that strobe or flash
media or messages that contain unsubstantiated "miracle" weight loss or other miracle claims of cure
advertising units that extend beyond the defined advertising space or interfere with the content or impact the readability of the content without user initiation
advertising units that do not retract to the defined advertising space upon user scroll off or contain a "close" or "X" for user to retract or close the ad unit/message after user initiation
advertising units that mimic computer functions or deceptively indicate a computer or other function that would be reasonable to the average user to assume as a reason to click the unit
non-WebMD branded, interactive media units with data capture fields on any WebMD editorial (non-sponsored)
non-WebMD branded, interactive media units with personalized or diagnostic assessments

Advertisers must only offer products or services, which are readily available for purchase at the advertised price (with noted tax and delivery fees). The Advertising must also clearly identify the advertiser. Any Advertising that could be misconstrued as editorial content will be clearly labeled as Advertising.
WebMD recognizes and maintains a distinct separation between advertising and sponsored content and editorial and decision-making content. All Advertising, promotional, sponsored or marketing content on the WebMD Site will be clearly and unambiguously identified. WebMD will not allow any Advertising on the WebMD Network that is not identified with the label of "Advertisement."

Clicking on the ad unit will link you to an advertiser's site, to relevant information on WebMD, or to a Sponsor's Resource Center on WebMD. Sponsored Resource Centers are labeled as being sponsored and the name of the sponsoring entity is displayed. See Our Sponsor Policy for more information about how we label information from our Sponsors and the steps we take to help you understand the differences between WebMD content and Sponsored content.
WebMD retains the exclusive right to determine how any and all search results for specific information by keyword or topic are displayed on the WebMD Site. WebMD search results are not influenced based on monetary incentives provided by Advertisers or Sponsors. As described in the "Ads by Yahoo" hyper link in the Ads by Yahoo section on our Search pages, these "Ads by Yahoo" are listings that have been purchased by companies that want to have links to their sites appear adjacent to search results in response to specific terms. WebMD may receive payment from Yahoo in connection with displaying the sponsored link results. Content listed in search results is displayed with its source e.g. "WebMD News." If Sponsored Content appears in the search results, it is labeled as "WebMD Sponsor" so that users can make informed decisions about the content they wish to view. In addition, WebMD provides a separate area on the search results page labeled "WebMD Sponsors" in which sponsors and advertisers may purchase space to list their content or advertising. See Our Sponsors for more information.
WebMD reserves the right to reject, cancel, or remove at any time any Advertising from the WebMD Site for any reason and will provide prompt notice to the advertiser upon rejection, cancellation, or removal of any Advertising, together with an explanation following the rejection, cancellation, or removal. WebMD also reserves the right to determine the appropriate placement of the Advertising on the WebMD Site.
It is the Advertiser's responsibility to comply with all applicable domestic and foreign laws, including applicable laws and regulations of regulatory bodies. This includes pharmaceutical advertising to physicians and consumers that must comply with FDA guidelines for Direct to Physician (DTP) and Direct to Consumer (DTC) advertising as well as underwritten CME programs that must be labeled in accordance with the guidelines of the Accrediting Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and any other relevant accrediting bodies. WebMD will not monitor compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, WebMD reserves the right to review all Advertising for compliance with applicable laws and regulations and, if WebMD becomes aware of any breach or potential breach of any applicable law or regulation or of these guidelines, WebMD may remove the Advertising.
No Advertising will be allowed on the WebMD Network that could injure the good name or reputation of WebMD or the WebMD Site.