What triggers the obligation?
Any consideration. A fee is the obvious case, but the rule is broader: a free dinner in exchange for a Reel, a complimentary colour appointment, a product the creator keeps, a free month of membership. If the creator received something because they were going to post, the post is commercial.
The obligation does not depend on how much it was worth. A CHF 40 lunch triggers it exactly as a CHF 2,000 fee does.
Where does the label go, and what should it say?
At the beginning, where someone sees it before they decide to keep watching. In a caption that means the first line. In a video it means the first frame or an on-screen label that stays long enough to read.
Plain words work best in Switzerland because the audience is multilingual. In German, Werbung, Anzeige, or bezahlte Partnerschaft. In French, Publicité or Partenariat rémunéré. Instagram's built-in paid partnership tag is useful, but treat it as an addition to a written word rather than a replacement — it renders inconsistently and disappears entirely when a clip is reposted.
What is the difference between the CSL and the law?
Two separate things, and it helps to know which is which. The Swiss Commission for Fairness — Commission Suisse pour la Loyauté, Schweizerische Lauterkeitskommission — is a self-regulatory body of the communications industry. Anyone can complain to it, it publishes its findings, and it cannot fine anyone. Its power is reputational.
The Federal Act against Unfair Competition, LCD in French and UWG in German, RS 241, is actual law. Misleading commercial communication can be pursued under it by competitors and by consumer organisations. In practice the reputational route is the one small venues encounter, but the legal route exists.
Does the venue carry any risk, or only the creator?
Both. The business that commissioned the post is part of the commercial communication, and a complaint over an undeclared partnership names the brand as readily as the creator. You cannot outsource this by not mentioning it.
Treat it as part of the brief. One line in the agreement saying the creator will mark the post as advertising costs nothing and settles the question before anyone posts.
Does content you own and publish yourself need a label?
No. A video that a creator filmed for you, which you publish on your own account, is straightforwardly your own advertising. Nobody is being misled about whose message it is, because it is on your page.
The obligation attaches to the situation where a personal recommendation is actually paid for. That is the case the rule exists to catch: a viewer who thinks they are watching a genuine opinion when a transaction sits behind it.
Where should you check the current wording?
The Commission publishes its principles in German, French, and Italian at faire-werbung.ch, and they are revised periodically. If a campaign is large enough that the answer matters financially, read the current version rather than a blog summary — including this one.
This article describes the general position and is not legal advice. For anything unusual, particularly in regulated categories like health, alcohol, or finance, ask a lawyer.