Why can commissaries advertise?
Armed forces regulations prohibit direct advertising paid for by commissaries. The staff can use handouts or posters within the store and other on-base locations, but prices can’t be used in handouts that can be removed from the store. They may list the savings percentage, however. Also, commissaries may not spend money on patron mailings. Why? First, commissaries are funded with taxpayer dollars as part of the military benefits package. Those appropriated funds cannot be used to fund direct advertising. You might see advertisements in base newspapers, receive mailings or hear radio ads purchased by various grocery industry partners, and these might list prices. No government bucks are involved, however, and there are no restrictions on how private business spends its advertising dollars.
