(A) No person shall directly or indirectly make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or place before the public, in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or in the form of a book, notice, handbill, poster, circular, pamphlet, letter, sign, placard, card, label, or over any radio station, or in other way, an advertisement or announcement of any sort regarding merchandise, service, employment, real estate, or anything of value offered by him or her for use, purchase, or sale, and which advertisement or announcement contains any assertion, representation, or statement which is untrue or fraudulent.
(B) No person shall, in any manner or by any means of advertisement or other means of communication, offer for sale any merchandise, commodity, or service as part of a plan or scheme with the intent, design, or purpose not to sell the merchandise, commodity, or service so advertised at the price stated therein, or with the intent, design, or purpose not to sell the merchandise, commodity, or service so advertised. Nothing in this section shall apply to any visual or sound radio broadcasting stations, to a telephone company offering announcement service according to tariffs filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, or to any publisher or printer of a newspaper, magazine, or other form of printed advertising, who broadcasts, publishes, or prints the advertisement in good faith without knowledge of its false, deceptive, or misleading character.
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of fraudulent advertising, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. (Ord. 3071, passed 1-3-1974) Penalty, see § 130.99