Surprise Boxes: Mystery Or Risk For Consumers? – Advertising, Marketing & Branding

G+

Gun + Partners

More

Gün + Partners is a full-service institutional law firm with a strategic international vision, providing transactional, advisory and dispute resolution services since 1986. The Firm is based in Istanbul, with working offices Ankara and Izmir. The Firm advises in life sciences, energy, construction & real estate, technology, media and telecoms, automotive, FMCG, chemicals and the defence industries.”

In recent years, the concept of “mystery boxes” or “surprise boxes” has become increasingly popular, taking a central place in the marketing strategies of many companies.

Turkey
Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment

Article Insights

In recent years, the concept of “mystery boxes” or
“surprise boxes” has become increasingly popular,
taking a central place in the marketing strategies of many
companies. While the element of surprise and intrigue offered by
these products is highly appealing, it also raises various legal
questions regarding whether the delivered items actually meet
consumer expectations.

The Advertisement Board (“Board”), at its meeting
dated September 11, 2025, placed on its agenda mystery boxes
offered for sale without any information regarding their contents
and issued decisions that may be considered as setting principles
with respect to such mystery boxes.

• The Board determined that, in the sale of mystery boxes
  marketed with expressions such as “Electronic
  Suprise Box”, “Mystery Jewelry Jar 20
  Piece Bijouterie Set”, “Suprise Natural
  Stone Box” and “Suprise Cosmetics
  Box”, no information or explanation provided
  regarding the contents of the boxes. The Board further assessed
  that mystery box sales and similar methods may lead consumers to
  enter into a consumer transaction that they would not normally
  engage in under ordinary circumstances. Accordingly, the Board
  concluded that these practices were in violation of Consumer
  Protection Law (“Law”) and decided to impose a
  suspension order on these advertisements.




• The Board also assessed that mystery boxes marketed with
  expression such as “Surprise Jersey Package Mystery
  Jersey Whatever Comes Out (European
  Teams)” likewise constitute an unfair commercial
  practice, are misleading to consumers, and violate the principles
  of fair competition. Accordingly, the Board decided to impose a
  suspension order on the advertisement in question.




• In another decision, the Board found that the products that
  could come out of the box such as robot vacuums, smart watches,
  game consoles, earphones and speakers were promoted using their
  visuals, while at the same time a fake countdown timer was
  displayed under the heading “time left until the discount
  ends, don’t miss this opportunity.” In its decision,
  the Board determined that consumers were not clearly informed about
  the products that could come out of the boxes or the probability of
  receiving them, and that the fake timer pressured consumers into
  making hasty decisions. Because no information was provided
  regarding the actual likelihood of receiving these products and an
  artificial sense of time pressure was created, the commercial
  practice was found to be unfair and misleading. Accordingly, the
  Board ordered the removal of the content in question and stipulated
  that, should the removal not be effected, access to the content
  shall be blocked.

The Board in its decisions, assessed that mystery boxes marketed
under general categories such as “electronics”,
“cosmetics” or “natural stones”, as well as
those more specifically described such as “European team
jerseys” do not provide sufficient information or disclosure.
Furthermore, the Board emphasized in its decisions that, where the
mystery box may contain products such as robot vacuums,
smartwatches, game consoles, headphones, or speakers, consumers
must be clearly informed of the likelihood of receiving each of
these products. The Board considers that such mystery boxes may
lead consumers to enter into a transaction they would not normally
engage in under ordinary circumstances in and that the uncertainty
regarding the nature of the goods or services offered through
distance sales renders mystery box promotions an unfair commercial
practice when advertised.

According to Article 7/5/a of the Regulation on Commercial
Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices
(“Regulation”), titled “Truthfulness and
Honesty”, advertisements must not contain statements or
images that could directly or indirectly mislead consumers
regarding the characteristics of the product, including
its “composition, structure, supply, benefits,
risks, accessories, method and date of manufacture, fitness for
purpose, manner of use, lifespan and application areas, technical
specifications, efficiency and performance, quantity, origin and
environmental impact.” Even if the general
information about the products contained in the box is provided in
advertisements for mystery boxes, where there is a disproportion in
terms of economic value or utility among the possible products, or
where no information or explanation is provided regarding the
probability of receiving specific products, such advertisements are
considered not be to be prepared in accordance with the Article 7/3
of the Regulation, taking into account the perception of the
average consumer and the potential impact of the advertisement on
them. In light of the Advertisement Board’s decisions, it is
assessed that if different colors and concepts of the same products
are included in a mystery boxes, providing information about the
products that may be contained in the box, and ensuring that no
product is disproportionately dominant over the others, such
advertisements may be considered complaint with the Law and the
Regulation.

The announcement¹ shared by the Ministry of
Trade regarding these decisions also states that e-commerce
platforms offering such products were warned to take preventive
measures to stop the sale of the relevant items. In light of these
developments, it can be concluded that the Board considers
promotional materials for mystery boxes that do not provide
information about the products contained within or their
probability of occurrence to be in violation of the Law and the
Regulation, and that it will continue to closely monitor products
marketed as mystery boxes.

Footnote

1.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.