"Anyone from the street can register an advertising company within one day. They can collect money for ads and take off to the Crimea," said Vladimir Yevstafyev, president of the Maximum agency, one of the association's 27 members. "The situation demands a certification process like this one," he said.
Starting Sept. 1, ad agencies may apply for certification to a committee of experts established by the association.
"The association is ready to take moral responsibility upon itself," said Vladimir Andreyev, the association's executive director.
Like Yeltsin's decree, which forbids promises of future returns for investment firms, the association's code includes a call to require clients to demonstrate their ability to follow through on promises. Member agencies are forbidden from accepting business from those companies that do not comply.
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